A Darker Side of Life
by Alex von Dualgunner
Summary: A young Ezio Auditore is pulled into a conflict known as the Oblivion Crisis, as he tries desperately to come to terms with his identity and his family's identity. As he matures as a warrior, the forces of Mehrunes Dagon gather for an attack that could destroy everything in Tamriel.
1. It Began

The cold night was filled with the deep, black sky. Stars had dimly glowed in the sky, providing a mediocre amount of light on the stony road of Skingrad, not to mention the connected roofs of the buildings around blocked out the moon. A young man with black hair stood on the porch of his family's estate, Rosethorn Hall, standing by the torch attached to the railing. The wind blew through his hair, but his eyes were not carefree. His duty to guard the structure during his father's and brother's absence did not go without toll. His mother and sister slept silently in the upper rooms, awaiting the men of the house to return.

Ezio leaned on the railing of the balcony, looking down the unlit road. Why couldn't he have gone to the Imperial City as well? It didn't seem fair that he be the only one left behind. He fiddled with the iron knife attached to his belt. A gift from his father, who trained him to fight rather well. He never got a chance to use that ability, however. In his mind, he would imagine how nice it would be to sate the weapon's thirst for blood. There were a few people he had in mind, too: Eyja, the house maid, who had always forced him to do the mediocre jobs of the home as though he was the servant. Worse still, she had his father's approval, and he couldn't argue. Her death would be pleasing, indeed.

That idiot Glarthir would be another that he would silence to ease his own burden. The damn fool already believed that everyone in Tamriel was against him, anyway. Why not kill him, and prove him right? At least for Ezio's case. The Count of Skingrad was also a high and mighty upstart: whenever his family went to visit his castle, he was always looked down upon by everyone there, for seemingly no reason at all. Spilling their blood would be pleasing as well.

He would happily murder everyone in town, except his brother. The only person who understood Ezio, the only one who would take time out to listen to his problems. His father did this as well, but not in nearly the same, burden-easing way his brother seemed to. Federico Auditore, the only man in Skingrad he would trust with his life, and the only man he would leave alive were he to ever go on a murderous massacre. He shifted his weight, and laughed at such foolishness; the thought of ever actually murdering all of these people seemed not only beyond reach, but beyond will. If it ever really came down to it, he wouldn't kill unless his own life depended on it.

Ezio's ponytail blew in the wind, as a torch travelled down from the road, away from Colovian Trader's. Or was it to Colovian Trader's? Ezio could only guess before the man, riding a horse inside city walls, arrived before Rosethorn Hall. "Is the lord of this estate in?" he called urgently.

"No, but I am here to take his place. What is it I can do for you?" Ezio called back, secretly annoyed by having to answer for his father, Giovanni Auditore.

"Can you fight?" the man asked, trying to see Ezio's face in the darkened street lit only by the orange glow of the torch.

"I am not new to the concept…"

"Then help! We're being invaded damnit! Hundreds of them, I don't know where they are all coming from!" Ezio placed one hand on the railing, and used it to toss himself over it. Landing on the ground, he progressed into a roll to prevent the fall from harming him. He followed the rider to the bridge that connected the two halves of Skingrad, where the moon shown down. He looked before him, and saw a small army, all crossing the bridge into Skingrad Castle.

Ezio looked around at the people around him: there was a small number of them this far from action. They had set up a catapult, and a few of them readied their bows for firing from long distance. "This will not do," he muttered, looking at the catapult. "I wasn't trained in long-range combat."

"That's what the catapult is for. Hop in." The man from the horse said, drawing a sword and climbing onto the catapult. Two other men joined him, followed by the hesitant teenager Ezio. "Three!" he called out, the teen focusing on the fire near the castles. "Two!" In a matter of moments they would be at the front of battle. "One!" Ezio was starting to regret what he thought earlier: he didn't want to kill anyone. "Fire!" Too late now. The catapult launched, and Ezio could barely take a breath as he flew through the air toward the bridge.

He landed on the bridge, a few enemies breaking his fall, and stopping his flight. The staggered, and a few fell off of the bridge, falling to their deaths below. Ezio backed up, drawing the dagger. Fear gripped him, now at the worst possible time. He had never killed a man: how was he supposed to start now?

His father had always prepared him for situations of multiple enemies. But that was on dummies, or with dummy weapons. It never really killed anybody. Now it would be much more deadly, both to him and the other party. The man from the horse fought desperately, and terribly, against the enemies.

His attention returned to himself after dodging an enemy's attack. He dropped the dagger, and it fell off the bridge as he himself teetered on the edge between life and death. No…his death or theirs. He looked backwards and down, gauging the drop. Enemies were starting to congregate down there as well, readying to sack the town as well as the castle. Ezio grabbed the hand of the soldier as he brought his blade down, and kneed him in the crotch. The man didn't react very much due to his armor, but what little reaction there was was enough for the teenager to proceed with beating his opponent.

As a child, he often had to steal his brother's play sword to stop him from beating him with it. Here was no different. Punching the guard in the face, he grabbed the hilt of the double-edged iron shortsword and stabbed his opponent through the heart, using the blade to change places with the enemy and toss his armored arse off the bridge. Holding the bloodied blade to the oncoming horde of enemies, he took a breath. He just killed a man, and now he had to kill more. And for what purpose? He would decide later.

Ducking under one attack, Ezio slipped behind the foe and stabbed the enemies that would have attacked after a decisive blow. Tearing the blade out of the man's chest, he grabbed the shoulder of his original opponent and shoved the blade through the right side of his chest, dropping him instantly as he now fell off the bridge. Ezio retreated a little to gauge all of his enemies at once.

The catapult from the connector bridge starting launching fireballs now. It was disorientating, to both him and his enemies. Ezio ducked under one last attack from an enemy before getting blasted off of the bridge by the catapult bolt. Falling, he grabbed the last ridge of the bridge, looking down at his fate. He was going to die, by falling to his death.

He suddenly realized that this was a dream. It had to have been. He looked up at the archer who pulled an arrow back on the bowstring, readying to fire, and end Ezio's miserable little existence. He couldn't allow that in a dream. Swinging back and forth for momentum, he let go and flew at a lower part of the bridge, and kicked off downward, grabbing a banner that was ripping at the seams. It tore, but broke his fall as he landed on the ground safely, smirking at the miracle that had just saved him.

He looked at the mob of enemies before him, and took a breath. He looked on the ground, and picked up a dead guard's shortsword, and looked at the horde. Time to prove my worth, he decided, and charged towards the enemies. The catapult's blasts continued, sending bodies raining to the ground, as well as missing the bridge entirely and crushing Ezio's foes. He stabbed through one enemy with a shortsword, switching out with the opponent's longsword to continue fighting rather than take the extra time to pull his own weapon from the mangled corpse.

Using the longsword, he blocked a soldier's assault, and then countered with his own shortsword, piercing the man's armor easily. Pulling the blade out, he thanked the Nine as another bolt landed before him, killing a group of enemies that were just about to finish Ezio off due to his carelessness of being still for too long.

He retreated some distance before the enemies all started retreating. The Imperial Guard had arrived, along with his father and brother, Giovanni and Federico Auditore. The cart that carried the reinforcements was a force on its own, flattening enemies that were foolish enough to get in the way. Ezio dove out of the way, and gazed as Federico loaded three arrows onto his bow and killed three enemies at once with them.

His father was no less impressive with throwing knives. One knife between every finger on both hands, six throwing knives in all, all piercing the enemy's helmets and armor, killing them near instantly. The Imperial Legion soldiers loaded out of the cart and began to do war with the enemy at hand. Federico called out: "Ezio, to us! To us, Ezio!"

Following orders, the shock-numbed child sprinted toward the cart, leaping onto it by his brother. "Federico! Father! You're back!"

"How long has this been happening?"

"It just started as I am aware." Ezio replied. Federico continued firing three arrows at once upon enemies, and Giovanni took the reins of the horses and began to drive the cart towards the road leading up to the bridge. Within minutes, Federico decided that more arrows would only be wasted, and sat down next to Ezio, replenishing his quiver with supplies kept in the Imperial cart.

"You're covered in blood, brother." Federico said, smirking. "But you're alive."

"Yeah…" Ezio muttered, looking at his hands. It was a dream, it had to be. And yet, it was so…real. He had murdered a man…many men. He was a killer.

"Federico, get ready for more from all sides!" Giovanni called out. "Ezio, get ready to shove any enemies off of the cart! Even Federico can't kill our enemies if he has a knife in his back!"

Both boys obeyed. Ezio grabbed the iron shortsword, leaving the longsword behind. He needed quick attacks…by the Nine, he was even starting to _think_ like an actual killer. They arrived at the bridge, where the cart began running over anyone that didn't dodge out of the way, only to fall to their deaths below.

Federico shot down the ones who held on, and Ezio awaited an opportunity to show his skills by slaying any foe who clambered onto the cart. None did, and they arrived at the open, waiting doors of the castle. Ezio and Federico piled out, and ran to the walls of the castle.

"Now watch our reinforcements tear them apart from both sides."

"You brought reinforcements?"

"Always do, my brother. Always do."

Over the horizon, carts similar to the one they rode in began appearing, all loaded with Legion soldiers. The enemy were surrounded by Legion and Skingrad soldiers. The battle had been won.

The Count approached Ezio and Federico, along with Giovanni. "Ezio, the Count tells me you have been a valuable, yet foolish asset to the battle." Ezio blushed. "Perhaps you have gotten older than I thought…absorbed more than I believed. There is much for you to learn, but I thought you unready for the knowledge. It seems I have been proved wrong, in a foolish and lucky way. And I am proud to have been so."

"Much to learn?"

"Yes. I'll begin explaining in the morn—" Three Legion soldiers approached, all looking at Ezio.

"Sir, you're going to have to come with us." One said, motioning for Ezio to follow. "You and a few others are suspected of starting this whole assault in the first place."

"Pardon?" Ezio replied, astonished. "How could _I_ have anything to do with this? I was in my home naught but a few hours ago."

"We aren't saying you did it. We just want testimony about it." The soldier said, but neither Ezio nor Giovanni were convinced.

"If you wanted testimony, you wouldn't arrest my son." Giovanni answered for Ezio, holding up his arm to signal Ezio to say nothing.

"We are under no orders, sir, but we wish to make this as quick and painless as possible." The guard replied. "We wish no ill will to the Auditore family. But we will be back, next time under orders, to retrieve all possible suspects."

"Why not father or me, then?" Federico said, his father tossing a glance of anger at him for talking out of turn. "We could just as easily be suspects!"

"We rode with you, we know you weren't involved. Even the Count is going to the Imperial City to give testimony."

"Fine, but if my son sees the inside of a cell for this…" Giovanni muttered, murder on his breath, "…each of you will not wake to see the next sunrise."

"Of course, sir." The Legion soldier nodded. One guard had the gall to grab Ezio by the arm, but was quickly shaken off, given the idea that he didn't want to start anything. The entered the cart, a couple men and Ezio, and within moments they were already out of Skingrad's walls. The countryside went by quickly, but even still it took hours before the Imperial City's walls came into sight. White Gold Tower, also known as the Imperial Palace, was the most noticeable building from here, as it was the tallest structure in Cyrodiil, and could be seen from far around.

Ezio folded his hands, and kept his head down. He wasn't embarrassed to be with the Legion soldiers, he merely didn't want to be stared at. They exited the cart, and began walking through the large city. The Talos Plaza District wasn't very much, just the Tiber Septim Hotel and a few homes. Beggars all looked at Ezio, with penetrating eyes, for whatever reason. Were they interested in him? Perhaps they saw his rich garb, and wished for some philanthropy. He looked down, and saw the blood. Fat chance of that. Then why?

His question lasted all the way through the Elven Gardens and Market District, which he paid no attention to. Why were the beggars so interesting, then? He looked around to find himself, still with the Legion Soldiers, on the bridge to the prison isle.

"I thought I wasn't going to jail." Ezio said, looking at the soldiers.

"We lied." A huge force met the back of Ezio's head, and he fell instantly, unconscious.


	2. The Amulet of Kings

Chapter 2 is up. I'll try to update a chapter every Sunday, and keep it updated. I might be a little late sometimes, though. Bear with me. Thanks to the anonymous comment I got last time, I hope I did you proud with this latest installment. Enjoy!

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Ezio awoke in a dark cell, in dank, sweaty clothes. His head throbbed with pain as he stood and balanced himself on the cold, stony walls. He held a hand on his head, feeling for any injuries. His ponytail broke, and his hair flowed freely behind his head, down to his shoulders. The sun dimly shown in through the window, and he looked at the rotting wooden table and chair left before him, a single apple on the table with broken, clay pots.

Iron bars stood before the hall of the prison he was now in. His mind went through the events of the previous night, the battle that he had proved his own worth in. He took the lives of men, was that something to be proud of? Yet his brother and father did it so easily. And the guards…the ones that had knocked him out and thrown him in here…what was their intention? His father would take revenge, that was for sure. If he ever found out…

"Hey! Boy!" a voice called out from across the dirty hallway of the prison. "Yes, you! In that cell!"

"What do you want?" Ezio asked, slowly walking to the barred door. He looked across the hall to see a dunmer, more commonly known to us as a Dark Elf. His dark green skin blended well with the dark prison backdrop, and his voice revealed his cruel intent instantly.

"I guess they locked a kid up in here, too eh?" he muttered, starting to laugh. "Well, that's a perfectly good life wasted, I guess. You're never leaving, boy. Never."

"I'll get out." Ezio muttered in reply, doubt entering his mind.

"Oh, believe me, you won't. These cells are the ones they let people die in." Ezio looked at the man in disbelief. "That's right," he muttered, seeing his chance to shove doubt into Ezio's mind. "You're gonna die in here, boy! _Die!_"

A door opened to the far left, and several Legion soldiers accompanied a regally dressed man. Much more fancily dressed than even the Count of Skingrad, they walked to his cell, and looked at Ezio in awe, surprise and disgust.

"What the hell is a prisoner doing in this cell?" one guard, a female, asked.

"A-a usual mix up with the Watch, I—"

"Nevermind, open the door." She ordered, and a Redguard, a human with born fighting prowess, stood at the gate.

"Back up, prisoner. We won't hesitate to kill you." He ordered. Ezio grudgingly complied, and backed up. "By the window, prisoner, and stay there." Ezio looked at him with anger, yet fulfilled the demand anyway.

"Wait, your face…" the man said, looking at Ezio. "I've seen it somewhere before…"

"I've never seen you before in my life." Ezio grunted, annoyance and anger building up. First it was the Legion soldiers, now these yahoos were making his life that much harder.

"I've seen it…in my dreams." The man finished, and Ezio took a breath. The others were working steadily on the wall, probably undoing it somehow. That was the motions they were making, at the very least.

"In your dreams? I don't believe you…" Ezio replied. The man before him had silver-grey hair, and his age was pronounced through the wrinkles on his face, which, even now, seemed calm. As though he had come to terms with some great tragedy.

"Emperor, we must be going now." The female guard said, standing as the wall opened up.

"Emperor?"

"Good bye, Ezio Auditore." The man said, turning around to leave. Ezio stood there, dumbfounded. How did the man know his name? Was he really the emperor? Curious, he waited for the guards to all exit through the wall, to follow behind. The passageway was dirty, as though it was dug out a while ago. There was hardly any concrete to give his footsteps solidity, and the feeling of it moving under his feet unsettled him. Within moments, he entered a large chamber, and hid behind a wall, looking at the man and his escorts.

The guards stood in a formation around the man. Two behind, and one in front. The female in front, and looking carefully around for…something. "Keep going, it's only a matter of time before they find us."

They…who they? Ezio stayed hidden, and wondered. Why would the emperor be running away from something? Surely he could deal with an assassin, right? It was then that he heard a scuffle start. Looking back over the corner, he saw all three guards fighting red-robed men. They were being kept up pretty well, but the guards were fighting with prowess Ezio had never seen before.

One red-robed man had broken free of the pack, and charged at the man called "emperor". Ezio broke cover, and lunged himself at full speed, throwing the emperor out of the way just in time to deflect an attack with his exposed forearm, drawing blood. The assassin looked at him, and backed up a bit, recovering from the shock of Ezio's appearance rather quickly.

Ezio put up his fists, and readied to fight for the man's life. The assassin lunged at him, and a blade came out of his wrist, but before it could come into contact with Ezio, he grabbed the metallic bracer that held the blade, and twisted so the man's arm was over his shoulder, elbow down, where Ezio pulled down with his arms and up with his back, snapping the assassin's arm clean.

He folded in pain, but was smitten quickly as a guard's blade pierced his neck, and decapitated him. The Redguard looked at Ezio, and couldn't help but smirk. The kid had some skill after all. The man looked at him and smiled as well. "Our fate is in good hands…" Ezio could barely hear him mutter, and he looked around at the red-robed assassins.

"Not your typical Assassins…" the Redguard muttered, removing the wrist-mounted blade from one, and looking at the design: a sun rising. "The symbol is different, and as far as I know, there are no red-robed Assassins."

"The Assassins will have had no hand in my death, other than the one attempting to avert it." The man said. The guard looked at him. "What of Captain Renault?"

"I'm sorry, sir. She's dead." The Redguard replied. They continued into the chamber, Ezio picking up the wrist-mounted weapon the Redguard dropped, and placing it on his wrist. He also picked up the dead Captain's sword, belt, and sheath, and equipped them all as well. His short sleeves did nothing to hide the weapon, but Ezio was never the "sneaking and stabbing" sort of person, anyway.

"It will do for now." He said, starting down the stairs as well. The Redguard halted the party.

"The prisoner stays here." He said, looking at Ezio. "You still have a sentence to serve."

Ezio clenched his fist, accidentally releasing the blade. Its elevated springs protecting any of his fingers from being lopped off, however it still shocked everyone. "I'd be careful how I used that, prisoner." Said the other guard. "It is not just a weapon, it is also a symbol."

The emperor's party opened the door, and entered, closing and locking it behind them, leaving Ezio alone in the chamber. Alone…he heard a noise from behind the wall, and walked over to it. It seemed very weak, like it was about to crumble, yet something still sounded behind it. The wall burst open, and a giant rat leaped at Ezio, whose wrist-mounted blade sprung and silenced it. Removing the blade from the small beast, he looked at it, blood soaking his blade. He looked in at the cavernous chamber before him, and wondered if there was, perhaps, another escape from this wretched pit.

Clambering through the hole, he found a skeleton lying against a treasure chest on the far end of the chamber. Upon approach, he noticed the rusty crossbow that remained on the dead adventurer, as well as some faulty looking bolts. Picking it up, he loaded a bolt up, and looked around for a target. To his satisfaction, a bucket was hanging from a dry well, which led further down, but also up. The well had grating on the top, and was inaccessible from here, but the bucket made for a perfect target.

Aiming, he fired a bolt into the bucket. The accuracy of the weapon was slightly off, but the bolt shattering onto the bucket gave it an enhanced damaging effect, as well as a wider range of fire. He searched through the skeleton's inventory a little more, and found a few lockpicks. Standing to full height, Ezio walked towards a small wooden door a few paces away. He picked the lock expertly, and the door swung open like magic; no tumbler could stand before Ezio Auditore! He thought to himself, smirking.

He continued down the narrow, rotting corridors, and eventually found a small orange glow. A fire was around the corner, and a fire meant another living being. Whether a friend or a foe, Ezio readied the wrist-mounted blade, hidden under the prison sleeve. He carefully rounded the corner, and found a small green person. Not an orc, but a goblin instead. He drew the hidden weapon, and snuck up on it. Once within range, he grabbed the goblin by the shoulder with his right hand, and pierced the monster's heart with the blade on his left, killing it instantly.

He gently brought the goblin to the ground, muttering a phrase he had heard his father mutter once. "Requiescat in pace." Rest in Peace. It just seemed…right for some reason. Laying the goblin on the ground, Ezio searched the small camp for any supplies he could find. A few better tended crossbow bolts, and a dagger could be found. He was pleased with his findings.

Continuing through the cave, he didn't find much else other than three goblins which stood in the path of some logs that Ezio pushed down to kill all three at once. The phrase "requiescat in pace" seemed to soak the air he breathed. It was in his mind; something made him think of it. Eventually, he returned to a more concrete area, where he heard the voices of the guards. He took cover behind a pillar, and saw that he was a level above the guards and the emperor. They had their weapons drawn, as though they had just been attacked and were expecting more soon. They were right.

Three more red-robed men appeared, and two occupied the guards while the third one made to assault the emperor. Grabbing his crossbow and loading a bolt, he fired at the assassin, luck on his side, the splinters of the bolt shattering hit him in the shoulder, leaving him on the ground in pain. Ezio loaded another bolt, and fired again, hoping to hit his mark. The bolt flew in between the two combatants, separating them both temporarily.

Within moments, they returned to battle and Ezio loaded another bolt. It was now he wished he was better at ballistic weaponry. He fired another bolt, narrowly missing the assassin, but causing a small flinch. The guard impaled his heart with his blade, and retracted his arm, blood spurting out of the dying man as he fell to the ground. He then turned around to kill the third red-robe, which was rather easy now that there were two against one. After the last one was dead, the guards searched the area for where the bolts had come from. They would have found him inevitably, so Ezio came out of hiding, crossbow in his right hand.

"It's the prisoner!" called the Redguard with a ferocious tone in his voice.

"Kill him! He might be part of the assassins!"

"Baurus, wait!" called the emperor. "He is not among the enemy."

"But…" said the Redguard, by the name of Baurus.

"He is indeed an Assassin, I can tell by the way he fights he is of the Auditore clan. But he is not of the killers that are after me."

"Assassin?" Ezio asked, attaching the crossbow back to the belt which held the Captain's sword. "I am no assassin."

"You haven't been told of your heritage yet?" Baurus asked. "Get down here! Stay in a group. We won't hurt you; we're under orders not to." After taking a moment, scanning the group, Ezio buckled the crossbow back onto the belt, and hopped off the ledge that his path had led him too, and landed before the emperor. Baurus and the other guard began to continue, causing the emperor and Ezio to follow closely behind them.

"There are many entities within Cyrodiil. My Blades are one of them; and Assassins are another." The emperor started. "These two are not opposing forces; they work together, within the shadows of society. My Blades protect me with their lives, and the Assassins remove undesirables from Cyrodiil, making the Blades' job not so difficult. You are a member of the Auditore Clan, the Skingrad Assassins. There are many other groups, however. Cults, small ones. The Eden Cult and the Knights Templar among those groups. The Templars and Assassins are often depicted as constantly warring forces, however they both serve a singular purpose, albeit their methods differ. They both serve the Nine, but one wishes control and power through them, and the other wishes to serve them by removing the undesirables from the world."

"This is too much…" Ezio muttered. "…I cannot accept this."

"I could explain this much better, were I to have time to. I am certain you will find your own answers, but no matter what, I think you'll find that youb are an Assassin. And one with much potential, as well." He grabbed Ezio's shoulder, and looked in his eyes. "You were born under the sign of the Thief; your sneaking skills are superb compared to the average person. A good sign for an Assassin to be born under. I can also sense much untapped potential within you; you have yet to harness such potential, however."

"Stop calling me an—"

"Assassins! Protect the emperor!" the guard cried, he and Baurus armed themselves and prepared to defend the emperor.

"Stay on the emperor's back and take care of any that get through!" Baurus ordered, without looking at Ezio, who drew the Captain's sword and readied to fight anything that came near the emperor.

They stood there, watching the fight, when Ezio heard approaching footsteps from behind him. He spun and placed himself before harm's way to protect the emperor: two more red-robed men came out and attacked. "You are Ezio Auditore," the emperor muttered, possibly for a pep-talk, "and you," the red robes approached, almost within striking distance, "are an Assassin!" Ezio's blade skewered one red robe, and he let go in time to grab the other and kill him with the wrist-blade. Pushing the corpse off of him, he removed his blade from the other corpse just before it collapsed, and looked at the emperor.

"My father taught me how to fight. I am no Assassin." Ezio said, in a final tone. The battle between the guards and the other red robes ended, with the two returning almost unscathed. "Where are you going to hide?" he asked, deciding to make conversation not involving Assassins.

"I go, not to hide, but bravely to my own grave. You, however, must face your destiny before Death's sweet embrace can hold you." The emperor said.

"You know when you'll die?" Ezio asked, raising a brow. "Isn't that discomforting, in a way?"

"No. All men know of their impending demise, but I am blessed enough to know the hour of my death." Ezio shrugged. Death seemed a concept that was too far away for him; he had no idea of the fear it would eventually strike into him. Or, he would simply face the fear every day, as all men had to. "I have no trophies of my own to display my lifetime, but I have done no ill to Cyrodill either. I go to Death calmly, and know it will accept me with open arms."

They kept walking until one guard said: "Wait! I don't like this…" he leaped down a small ledge, and walked up to the grated door. After trying to open it a few times, he screamed: "It's locked! We fell for a trap!"

"These tunnels were supposed to be secret…obviously they weren't." Baurus said. "There is a room over there. Perhaps there is also a way around it?"

"Worth a shot. Let's go!" They all headed into the small chamber, and footsteps could be heard outside the room. "Stay here, and guard the emperor with your life." Ezio nodded, and the two men left the room to fight off the enemies.

"My time is up, Ezio." The emperor said urgently. He gave him a red amulet, and looked at him. "Take this to Jauffre, who lives in Weynon Priory. He will know of my last heir, Martin Septim. You must aid him to the Temple of the One, and close shut the jaws of Oblivion!"

"Oblivion?" Ezio asked, but before an answer could be made, a false wall opened up and a red robe came out, and slammed his wrist-blade into the emperor, killing him instantly.

"You picked a bad time to take up the Septim's cause!" he yelled, victory in his eyes as he dropped the emperor. "Now you die too."

"You son of a…" Ezio started, but ducked under an attack, and backpedaled. He drew his own sword, and readied to take the man down quickly. He charged at him, but his wrist-blade as easily blocked by Ezio, who grabbed the bracer with his right hand he dropped the sword in, and stabbed the enemy in the heart with the other, and dropped him to the ground. He picked up his sword, and retracted the wrist-blade, and walked over to the emperor.

"Your life has more meaning than you believed. May you rest with the knowledge that I will carry out what you have asked, because it is my duty. I am no Assassin, but if needed I will act as one. Requiescat in pace." He muttered, closing the emperor's eyes. Baurus entered the room, carrying the helm of his fallen comrade.

"The emperor! What…who…" he started, then looked at Ezio, still kneeling before the corpse, muttering condolences. "He's…dead…" he fell to his knees. "Our mission…no, our lives have been worthless…"

"He knew he was going to die." Ezio said, standing up and looking at the dead red robe. "By my honor, I will kill every son of a bitch involved in this. They will all die." He clenched his fist, still holding the red amulet.

"The Amulet of Kings…" Baurus muttered. "Emperor Septim trusted you. He has an instinct for it. Some say it's his Dragon Blood. That Amulet is the cornerstone of the empire. Though most think it's the Dragon Crown, that's just jewelry." He explained. "Whether you believe it or not, you are an Assassin…Ezio, was it?" he nodded. "Did he tell you what to do with it?"

"He mentioned someone named Jauffre."

"Jauffre…what better person to take it to. You might not think it to meet him, living as a monk, but he is the Grandmaster of our order."

"I see."

"Head to Cheydinhal, and from there get transportation to the Priory he lives at: Weynon. It is just South of Chorrol."

"I shall. Thank you, _signore._" Ezio responded.

"Continue through those sewers, and you'll be outside in no time. Good luck, Auditore. You'll need it."

Ezio jumped into the hole that was disguised by the fake wall, and continued through the narrow passage, finding a manhole to go down. He descended, further into darkness, but saw a light at the end of the tunnel. Running at it, he heard his own footsteps echo in the sewer, fresh air almost on his face. Everything was happening so fast…Skingrad, jail, the emperor's murder…Ezio wondered about the Assassins, and questioned the validity of their claims. He couldn't have been an Assassin, could he? Memories of his father and brother went through his mind…and he realized why the beggars would have been staring at him.

His father's ability to fight, his secrecy…the reason he taught Ezio to fight in the first place…it all added up, but he needed to know for sure. He needed to get back to Skingrad…the Amulet was safe in his possession, he would make sure of that. He opened the grating leading to the outside, and took a deep breath of fresh air.

His next stop was Cheydinhal, and from there he would figure his plan out. Skingrad wasn't too far off of Chorrol, so it wouldn't be that much of a detour either way.


	3. Corruption Opening: Daylight

And so begins the first arc of the story. I am going to have several arcs based on missions in Oblivion, but mutated with Assassin's Creed ideas. It is through Corruption and Conscience that our young hero starts to harness his ability, even though he already seems pretty strong.

If you have any ideas of what quests Ezio should go through, I'd be happy to hear your ideas. Thanks again for reading!

~Todd

* * *

Ezio walked out onto the dock, and looked around. The grass was a beautiful shade of blue green, shaded by the night sky. A whole night had passed by in that dungeon. In that situation…he had witnessed the emperor's murder, and killed the killer. He now had promised the Blade, Baurus, that he would return the Amulet of Kings to the final, and vanquish everyone related to the murder of the emperor.

He looked at the wrist blade, the symbol upon it now resembled that of hatred. The rising sun, depicted on the metal bracer of the weapon, now shown on the horizon, as the black sky now had shades of dark blue in it. The wind blew through his released hair, and he continued walking forward, his crossbow making noise as it jostled the captain's sword. He looked at the river before him; across it would be a small road to Cheydinhal. He leaped onto the gondola nearby the dock, and rowed across the Rumare River. Reaching the shore opposite, he heard the breathing of people.

Walking through the campsite, he saw some horses; transportation that would make his travel a lot shorter, and easier. He walked over to the horse and began to release it from the various locks that the people put on them, when a shadow from behind approached. Ezio stood, drawing his sword, and looked at the man before him. A bandit, he could tell by the way he held his knife.

"Yer gonna die, boy…" he muttered, bloodlust in his eyes. He leaped at him, but was easily thrown off balance, and tossed aside. He stumbled a bit, and Ezio continued untying the horse, and stood to redirect another attack. The bandit, at this point, got smart and called for help. The other bandits, three in total, appeared, and all surrounded him like clockwork. Two with swords, two with maces, and one of them had a quiver and bow accompanying his arsenal.

"Bring it on," Ezio said, sheathing his sword and drawing his dagger. One came at him with sword, another from behind with a mace as well. He ducked under the one from behind's attack, and jammed his knife into the man's shin, splitting the bone and spurting blood. He rose, skipping a beat by mistake and feeling a hard punch to his gut, followed by a near-fatal blow to his head, the major damage of the attack thwarted by the knife, which broke in exchange for his own life.

Tossing aside the useless hilt of a knife, Ezio rubbed his forehead a little, blood oozing from where the knife shattered before his face. He was staggered by the blow, and had to be on high-alert for any other incoming attacks. The bandit with the mace that stood before him made to bring a heavy attack downward upon Ezio, who dodged the attack, not willing to get killed by a simple bandit, after he had made such a solemn vow of vengeance for the emperor.

He strafed around the bandit, keeping his eye on all sides. Any attacks right now could get him killed. His vision was starting to blur from the attack, as a headache began to form. The bandit held his mace to the far right, and lunged forward swinging both the mace's weight and his own to the left, in an attempt to crush the intruder quickly.

Ezio leaned backward, falling on his rear, but he kicked at the bandit's shin during mid-lunge, bringing him down, hard. He grabbed his foe by the back of the neck, keeping him down as he looked up to see the other bandits. They had already decided a frontal attack was suicide, and the archer drew his bow and strung an arrow. He had let it fly as Ezio pulled the disgruntled ground-bound bandit forward, blocking the arrow with a body. The bandit was killed almost instantly, as the arrow went straight through his heart.

The third bandit yelled, charging the young man as he dropped the body. "No, don't!" the archer yelled, but the man was torn with grief. More than he himself had probably expected. Ezio drew his sword and held it out, partly out of fear, partly out of instinct. The blade impacted with the bandit's rib cage, leaving him alive long enough to grab Ezio's throat and begin choking him. Desperate for air, he looked around for something to release the bandit's grip. Out of the corner of his eye, he also saw another bandit readying an arrow. He was going to shoot on the chance that Ezio managed to break free of the death-grip.

The lack of air steadily made itself more pronounced. His whole body almost felt like it was shaking, his vision was blurring to the point that colors could barely even be made out. He looked at his belt, and saw his last weapon that would work. He grabbed the crossbow, and began beating him with the it, the splintering could almost be heard as the lathe connected with the bandit's face, and as he fell to the ground, bleeding with the sword still lodged in his side. The crossbow fired its last bolt into the leg of the archer bandit, breaking into pieces as the bolt launched from the dying weapon.

He ran at the last bandit, intending to finish the job. He landed down onto the bandit, his wrist-blade launched and slammed into the man's throat, killing him. He stood, looking down at his handiwork, thinking the words "Requiescat in pace". He mouthed the words, but said nothing.

He walked over and searched the tents for anything to replace his crossbow. Surprisingly, he found nothing. That bandit with the bow was the only archer. Crossbows Ezio could work with, but bows he refused to. His vision continued to blur, but if he stayed here for the night, he would more than likely find other bandits in the morning. He walked back over to the horse, and mounted it after dislodging his sword from the dead man, riding off into the sunrise, in the direction of the rising sun.

Cheydinal appeared before him as the sun reached the top of the sky. Its walls boasted a stony-grey style of architecture, more often known as Nord. The cities East of the Imperial City and the ones West of it had very contrasting styles of architecture, pending on the country the city and province had proximity to. Ezio dismounted his horse and approached the city warily, looking around for more red robed people that might be after him now.

The large gate opened before him, and he walked into the vast, contrasting city. The cathedral stood most noticeably in the city, along with all of the two-story homes along the grass and dirt pathways. The concrete road stood in the middle, where people all gathered to ready for church. A few people in armor, presumably Cheydinhal guards, pulled a man aside rather forcefully. Interested, Ezio hid behind a nearby home, looking around the corner, and listening in, intently.

"I have no money to pay your taxes…" whimpered the man, staggering backward. The guard followed closely, his blade drawn.

"Then you die," he said, and looked at the man. "Captain Ulrich knows who you are…your execution was inevitable, anyway, citizen."

Ezio looked, launching the hidden blade and leaping from around the corner. He ran at full speed toward the guard, who, confused, could do nothing to defend against the rattled, blood-soaked man charging at him. Ezio leaped at him, his knee crashing into the lightweight cuirass of the guard, and sending him to the ground. Continuing the motion, the wrist-mounted blade went into the guard's neck, and killed him instantly. He closed the guard's eyes, and stood up, looking at the man.

"I did not save you because you could not pay taxes." He stated, looking at the man. "I saved you because the punishment was unjust and cruel. Now flee, before more guards arrive." The man stood, and fled to a nearby alleyway. Ezio looked over his shoulder, and walked into a separate alley, trying to remain inconspicuous.

He hopped a fence into a backyard, walking through the freshly-cut grass, the smell wafting in the afternoon sun. He hopped the fence again, seeing two guards facing the streets, but clearly guarding something behind them. Ezio stalked toward them; he needed to get out of the alleyway eventually. He was about to charge through, when he heard a voice.

"Pay your weekly taxes today!" he looked, and saw the gallows, before a large Temple. A Temple of the Nine, in Cheydinhal? He thought that there were only temples in the west…shaking off the small confusion with acceptance, he looked back to the gallows, a gathering of quite a few nooses. There were three men there: the proctor, a heavily armored man and what looked like a Guard Captain. They all usually got similar uniforms, as Ezio noticed from his travels to Kvatch when he was with his father.

A guard ran up to the gallows, looking at the captain. "Sir! The guard is dead, and Fiern isn't to be found!"

"Then he murdered the guard." The captain deduced. "He shall be sentenced to death immediately; no trials for murderous scum like him." He said. Ezio slapped himself silently, and looked forward. Now the poor man was going to die for charges well above what he had originally been charged for. The only way to save his life would be to put his own on the line.

He drew the wrist blade, and stabbed the first guard, pulling the Captain Blade's sword as well in response to the guard's response. He backed up, and ducked under the guard's horizontal attack. He punched forward, aiming at the guard's gut, but the guard reacted fast enough to grab Ezio's fist and shove him backwards. Ezio, in turn, was quick enough to defend himself from the guard's counterattack, using the bronze metal bracer on the weapon to deflect the stabbing motion the guard had started.

Two more guards approached, and a whole fight started. Now was the time to retreat. He launched the wrist blade, ducking under a sweeping attack of the longsword, and stabbing through the guard's armor. It shattered as it entered his heart, killing him instantly and rendering one of Ezio's best weapons useless.

He used the corpse as a shield as he shoved his way through the small crowd of guards, and sprinted away from the cluster of enemies as they all mobilized to chase. He got a good glimpse of the Guard Captain, who stared directly into his eyes, but made no motion to chase. Hopefully this would turn the mysterious guard death to him, rather than someone who had no choice in the matter of the guard's life.

While running at extremely high speeds, the environment naught but a blur. He picked out a beggar, who was motioning somehow to him to divert his course of fleeing in that direction. Stopping on one foot, his momentum curved and sent him toward the beggar, who continued motioning him to go in that direction, though he merely got out of the way, and made no moves to continue in that direction either.

His breath came fast and hard. He could feel the white-hot burn in his chest as he overexerted his running, and his adrenaline continued flowing. A small, abandoned looking house was before him, with hooded people standing before it. He heard an explosion behind him, but by instinct continued into the house, where the hooded people followed behind, closing the door.


	4. Corruption Ep 2: Welcome to Cheydinal

Sorry about not updating for a while...a LONG while...here is the latest update, anyway. Enjoy!

* * *

Ezio awoke in a dark chamber, with a few other men on cots similar to the one he was on. He sat up, and rubbed his head; in his mind, he pictured what happened the day before; the Emperor's death, the bandits, the guards…

Their faces, as life drained from their eyes. The image was burned into Ezio's mind, he couldn't get it out. It was there, as if he was cursed with this pain. Perhaps guilt and morality finally caught up with him. His thoughts from Skingrad rang in his mind…he wanted all those people dead, and by his hand, too. Now he merely wished not to shed any more blood. He saw the uselessness of taking a man's life; the vanity of such a sacrifice.

But now, here he was. His mind was set on one word: Assassin. Ezio could never return to his old life, the life of a Skingrad Nobleman, that was for sure. His conscience would get to him too quickly, he would be found out. He couldn't stay in Cheydinhal, too obvious. He had, after all, only narrowly escaped the guards. What other cities could he ever hide in?

The image remained in his mind, he couldn't rid himself of it. Their eyes, rolling back as their souls left this world prematurely. Was it necessary? Perhaps. Was it right? It could never be justified. Ezio was a cold-blooded killer now, and had to act like one. Or so he would like to think; it would certainly make life easier if that was as easily said as done. Before this, he never really put himself in the situation of a murderer, never read past the lines of any of the stories. What happens _after_ the murder? Your life is ruined as well. Stained with the blood of another man.

This "Assassin Order" they called themselves, are nothing more than a band of eccentric murderers. His father and brother were members of this band, and have been for years, it seems. Why not join them? His life would remain _mostly_ intact. Other than the fact he would be a hired killer.

What gave a man the right to choose whether another man got to live or not? When is it a justifiable action? Nothing and never. He looked at the floor, staring off into deep space. His whole life has been about death, and he is only now discovering that, He needed to get back to Skingrad, and quickly, too.

He looked up, seeing the other cots around him. People laid in them, silently resting. It must have been night time, but Ezio couldn't know for sure. He walked over to the large, wooden door, and opened it, looking around the silent, echoing hall. He stepped out, and walked as silently as he could towards the wherever he thought the exit was.

As he traveled in one direction, he slowly got a bad feeling about it. A door was before him, but he felt no air from behind it: it wasn't an escape. _It might lead to one, though. I have to believe that._ He opened the door, and before him stood a man in white hood and matching robes, a cape dangling on his back as opposed to what his father and brother wore, draped along their shoulder. Two others, dressed like him, but not as regally, looked at him.

"Master," one said, looking at him, "He's awake."

The hooded one turned around from what he was doing, sitting in a chair reading something. "Ah, the wandering one awakens. Come in, please. We have much to discuss."

"Who are you?" Ezio asked, not taking a step further.

"I cannot give you my name yet," he said, "But I am the Denmaster of Cheydinhal's Assassin Order."

"The Denmaster?" Ezio asked, confused.

"I see you are still new to being one of us," the Denmaster explained, "The Assassin Brotherhood has a branch in each city. The leaders are called Denmasters, and report directly to the Grandmaster of our Order, a name few will ever know, and a face fewer will ever see."

"Why be so mysterious if you want me to join?" Ezio questioned, leaning on the doorframe. As far as he could tell, they could definitely kill him, but didn't want him dead. Yet.

"You already have joined. You spilled blood in the name of the innocent, and then repeated the act to preserve his lifestyle." Ezio twitched. The blood he had shed so far, in the past few days…he suddenly felt sick. The Denmaster seemed to sense this turmoil. "…but you've never killed before…" he muttered. He signaled something with his hand, and another person walked into the room, looking at him.

"So, the newbie not okay with killing yet?" Ezio nearly puked. They tossed the sentiment around so easily, as though human life was a product, and disposable. "So, kid, may I ask where you're from?"

"Obviously somewhere not as barbaric as this," Ezio said, retaining his nausea and anger as best as he could. "How can you do this…just talk about killing someone, like, like it was some goddamned sport!" Everyone in the room looked at him, like they had heard that before: they probably have. "Why would I tell you where I'm from? So you can go there and kill everyone there? Why would I tell you my name, so you could find me and kill me whenever you wanted?"

The Denmaster stepped forth. "It seems you know enough of us to know what we do, but not our intentions."

"Intentions?" Ezio started, and stopped there. He looked away from the Assassins in the room. "I don't care of your 'intentions'! What gives you the right to kill? To decide who deserves to die?" The new one looked at him, almost outraged.

"Listen, ass, do you think it's ever a light decision?" he said, snapping at the young man, "We don't spill blood that doesn't need spilling! Take into account, would it be worse if we—" the Denmaster cut him off with a hand signal.

"I can tell from your accent and your ideology that you are of Skingrad descent," he said, getting a suspicious look from Ezio. "I must ask, since we've been disconnected from them for a while, now, how is Giovanni?"

"Giovanni is fine," Ezio said, pointedly. "And what do you mean, 'out of contact'?"

"Usually our Brotherhood is in constant connection, carrier pigeons being our main communication," he said, "Giovanni never mailed his report in." Ezio looked at the Denmaster. He was tempted to just leave, and make a run for Skingrad. Leave all of this behind, get back to his life.

"Hopefully we'll hear from him soon, then. Until then, since you're here, I need to evaluate your skill." Ezio raised a brow.

"Evaluate my skill? As a killer?" he asked, and stood to full height. "I will not oblige, sir."

"You wish to return to Skingrad, correct?"

"You think you're gonna stop me?"

"Having some extra training under your belt couldn't hurt, against bandits and such. Oh! But that reminds me…" the Denmaster muttered, "…we have a small problem of our own."

"Count me out of it,"

"I wish we could, kid, I really do. You managed to sneak into the gate somehow, we're all trying to figure that out, but you won't be able to get out."

"Why not?"

"The captain of the guard, Ulrich Leland, has the whole town on lockdown. Killing that guard didn't help our situation any, either." The Denmaster explained. "He is a tyrant, and is draining the town's resources right out from under _all_ of our noses, including the Count."

"Why can't you have him killed?" Ezio asked, folding his arms.

"We're in the middle of a lockdown, no one in or out," he explained, "But you, you got in somehow. An unidentified person, someone who can't be connected to anything or anyone here. You, kid, you have power. Enough power that Leland will be after you, whoever you are. You scare him, the only shadow in the town he can't eradicate, even in his own death."

"So you want me to kill him because I'm the only one who can't be connected, that's it? I'm sure your 'Brotherhood' could clean up any messes you make."

"If only that we true, kid," he took a breath. "We can cover official press, but rumors? Those are sentient thoughts, things we can't control. Things that shouldn't," he paused for suspense, "be controlled." He gazed at Ezio as he thought about it. On one hand, he couldn't leave without Leland's death. On the other, he really abhorred the thought if murder for one's own purposes.

"Is there really no way for me to leave otherwise?" Ezio asked, defeated at last.

"If there were another option, we'd be exploiting it as much as possible right now." The Denmaster replied, turning to walk away with his guards. "At the same time, we need to make sure you can do this. There's something ominous about Leland…something…dark."

An Assassin walked up to him, holding white robes similar to his. "Wear these," he ordered. "They are to keep your identity safe."

Ezio muttered something under his breath, about being forced to work with a band of murderers. He walked into a changing room, dark as the rest of the underground headquarters, and pulled his shirt off. Holding the robes before him, he took a deep breath. He was wearing their clothes. Their dirty, murderous clothes.

After putting them on, he felt their softness. They were flexible, breathable. He launched his hidden blade, and it came cleanly out of the sleeve, as though the two were made for eachother. The robes weren't anywhere near as fancy as the Denmaster's, or even the Skingrad Assassin attire. But it would do the job of hiding his identity, he thought. Pulling the hood over his head, Ezio walked out of the changing room, looking at the man, who was holding the Captain's sword.

"Any run-ins with the Blades, kid?" the man asked, looking along the blade of the weapon.

"Yes, why?"

"Just wondering, this is a finely crafted weapon." He remarked. "You didn't, perchance, work with the Blades, did you?"

"Why would that matter?" Ezio asked, yanking the sword out of the man's hands.

"It doesn't, I was just wondering." He looked at Ezio, "You do know the Blades are the Assassin's rivals, correct?"

"I don't care about a rivalry that isn't my own. I dress as one of you, and work for you, but I am not one of you." Ezio said, pointedly. Gazing at the blade, images of the Emperor's dead body came to mind. A tear fell from Ezio's eye.

"Anyway, you're finely equipped kid. Having your own Hidden Blade was a real plus." The man said, "but you'll need to be fully armed. A knife would do you good, as well as throwing knives."

"I believe I already said I am not becoming a full-fledged _Assassino_." Ezio said, grabbing a spare sheath for the blade, and strapping it onto his belt. "I have no need to be 'fully armed', as you put it."

"Skingrad for sure." The man said. "Can you at least tell me your name?"

"No," Ezio muttered, "I'll keep that to myself." He sheathed the blade on his hip, it's weight oddly welcome.

"Anyway, it would be a good idea to research your target, first." The man said, "That way you can know what you're doing. Your name is John Bronx. He was murdered earlier by some guards, but I made sure his death went unrecorded for now."

"Taking the name of a dead man?"

"Unless you want to be known as the 'Hooded Man of Cheydinhal'." The man joked. "Leland did not order his death, making this your opportunity." He looked at a map, drawing Ezio near. "The man you're looking for is Garrus Derelliun, second-in-command of the guard. Silently against his captain."

"_Grazie _for the information," Ezio said, standing up. "I'll be off at once."

"Oh, before you're gone…" the man said, standing up, "Don't speak with that weird Skingrad accent. It'll give you away quickly."

"I…how do I not speak like this?" Ezio asked, now self conscious of his voice.

"Well, maybe not be so strong with your throat, let off with your tongue…and not breaking out into random words in your language." Ezio looked at him, a confused look in his eye. "Come on, just try to talk…like me."

"Like you? I can try…" he said, and took a breath, thinking of something the man said to repeat. "…'Unless you want to be known as the "Hooded Man of Cheydinhal".'" He looked at the man, who almost doubled over laughing. "This is foolish, I'll be going now." He stood up to leave, humiliation burning in his cheeks. He was glad for the hood; it hid his blushing face.

Another Assassin led him out the door, and sunlight of a new day flooded his vision. He squinted for a bit, looking at the sky, and leveled his gaze. The town was again in a state of peace, or as peaceful as possible at the moment. An air of suspicion hung around the town. Garrus…where would he start looking for the second in command officer of the town, without bumping into too many guards?

He walked toward the town square, where he remembered seeing the Captain. Maybe the heavily armored brute was Garrus? Come to think of it, why didn't Leland chase him as well? Ezio rounded the corner, then hid behind it, seeing the Commander and a young, blonde-haired man wearing similar armor, talking with eachother. He moved as close to them as he could without being heard.

"…murdered yesterday. I can't believe it…I…" the young man, presumably Garrus, said.

"I expected you to watch the gate…" Leland said, in a scolding, angered voice. "…and you failed. Someone got in. What if someone got out, too?" he slapped the man, sending him to the ground.

"I…I don't know, sir…" the man whimpered, pain obviously controlling his every movmenent.

"I want this mole found, and identified, so we can keep a watch on him. He's already killed three people, as you've recently been informed." A feeling of regret filled Ezio's stomach; three people who would never again see the light of day.

"Y…yes sir…" Garrus muttered, standing up, and walking in Ezio's direction. Reacting on instinct, he stood and started to walk the other direction, but before he could get far, Garrus rounded the corner.

"Hey, who are you?" Garrus asked, jogging to catch up with Ezio.

"My name is John," Ezio replied, doing his best to replicate the man from the bunker's voice. It ended up sounding like a middle-eastern accent.

"John? Haven't seen you in a while."

"There's been good reason," Ezio replied, looking at Garrus, but not showing his face. "I need to kill the Captain."

"Talk like that, and I have a feeling you'll be dead much faster." Garrus replied. "Why?"

"I want to leave, I don't understand why I can't."

"The Captain has his reasons…" he said, and added on the side, "…I guess…"

"Can you tell me anything that can help?"

"Nothing that'll really make sense to an outsider." Garrus muttered. "What makes you think the Captain's death will mean you can leave? I presume you've heard of the murders…"

"Garrus, I have to be honest with you,"

"How did you know my name?"

"My name isn't John, I am from Skingrad. I need out."

"You're the murder…" Garrus muttered, stepping away.

"Wait!" Ezio yelled, Garrus' face changing from fear to anger.

"You've already killed three people, and you're after a fourth? Worse still, you want _me_ to help!"

"Wait, Garrus," Ezio said, getting the guard's attention. "I mean no ill will to Cheydinhal. The guards I killed were wronging the citizens."

"Really?"

"It was after the fact I learned of Leland's fines being the reason. I acted based on a guard threatening to kill a beggar on the spot." He took a breath. "Anyway, I need out, you need tyranny removed. Tell me what I need to know."

"The Captain is going to hold a Mass Execution tomorrow, where he tortures everyone who missed their taxes in public." Garrus explained, defeated by reason, "It is there that you should attack. But I warn you, if you do attack: prepare." He looked at the hooded man, gauging him to be unarmed. "You'll need a few tricks up your sleeve: the Captain has exceptional fighting ability, beyond anything I've seen before."

"I'll try to make it quick," Ezio replied. "_Grazie_, however, for helping me."

"Take my knife, it'll help." Garrus said, handing him a knife. "If I gave you my sword, the attack would be expected and we'd both be out on our asses."

"Again, _grazie_ for the help."

"Now, get! I never saw you." Garrus muttered. Tomorrow at Mass. He walked off in a different direction than Garrus, headed for the Temple of the Nine. The Gallows were probably where the Mass would be held, and Ezio needed to know what it looked like, and to know where what would be. He entered the Temple, the large stone door creaking behind him. It was a slight surprise to find that his robes matched the monks' robes. It would make getting away a little easier.

He found some monks and a guard standing by the altar, the monks guarding something. Ezio got closer to hear.

"You two, come with me," the guard said, "Lord Ulrich said to collect everyone who refused to pay taxes. You will spend the night in jail."

"Please, officer," said the monk, his voice bearing honest sadness. "We couldn't pay…we have no money…"

"You refused to pay, sir. You're coming with me." Ezio walked behind the guard, readying to kill. _No…_he thought, looking at the two, _there must be another way…_

"_Signore_," Ezio said, the guard spun, "Good night." He punched the guard in the face, shaking his hand in pain afterward, sending the guard into the altar. He stood back up, holding his face. Ezio grabbed him by both sides of his head, and slammed his knee into his face, knocking him clean out. He looked at the two monks, and muttered, "Get out of here, as quickly as you can."

As soon as they disappeared, Ezio walked away from the unconscious guard, opening the door to the outside. He had to save everyone he could, but if guards around the city were all getting beaten by a mysterious monk, Ulrich would get suspicious.

He decided to head back to the Assassin headquarters after a few minutes, thinking remaining scarce would be best. It was odd, heading off for bed while the sun was still high in the sky, but he did it anyway. The old, shambled building stood before him, the door open to him and few others. He opened the door, and went inside: tomorrow, at Mass. That was when he was killing Leland, and getting out of there.


	5. Corruption End: The Templar Menace

I did it! I managed to keep on schedule once! Even though I was just fatally sick! (No seriously, I was) Thanks for reading, and sorry if it sounds weird. I was writing with a fever, which, I'm told, often makes stories better. This one? Eh, we'll see.

* * *

"Where is he, you _bastardo_?" the Assassin asked, his Hidden Blade at the Imperial Guard's throat. "I bet you were thinking I wasn't going to hold true with my promise, did you? Answer my question…now."

"We…we honestly don't know, sir!" the guard said, fear overcoming most of his senses. The Assassin bared down with the blade. "I swear! A special client came through his cell the day he disappeared!"

"Where did he disappear to?" the Assassin asked, letting his blade touch the guard's flesh.

"I wish we knew! We would have had him back to you by now, I swear it!"

"I've taken your word before…" the Assassin muttered, blood pooling around where his blade was, "…and I've already learned that that was a mistake." He pushed his blade through the guard's throat, killing him on the spot. "_Requiescat in pace_…" he muttered, laying the man to the ground, "…whether lying scum like you deserve it or not." He stood up, relieving the corpse of its keys to the dungeon, and opened the door to the cells. Step one was to find where his son could have gone…

Ezio stepped out of the door of the headquarters, his robes swaying in the wind. The air was filled with the scent of blood; he was almost late. He made his way through the crowd that gathered to watch the Mass. Ulrich stood before the whole crowd, readying for a speech. Garrus stood to the side, and fifteen people were waiting by their respective noose.

"These people have all committed a grave act," Ulrich announced to the crowd, stopping on the edge of the stage. He looked out to the crowd, but as mobile as it was, he would never be able to see Ezio on his way. "They all blatantly refused to pay their taxes." He drew his hammer, Ezio hurried on his way. "And so, they all will pay…" Ezio pushed past a couple, holding eachother tight, "…with…" he started walking across the gallows, lightly swinging his hammer in a little dance, "…their…" Ezio was almost to the stage, almost able to save everybody, "…lives." He stepped on a switch, and three people were hung.

"No!" Ezio yelled out, his arm outstretched, shoving through the last few people. Ulrich's eyes fell upon him, who hoisted himself up to the stage. "You bastard! What did you do?"

"Justice."

"No! This is not justice!"

"They broke the law. They did what we all agreed we would not."

"Missing taxes? You kill for money!"

"Taxes, sir, as you should well know…"

"What _town_ needs all the money you're gathering? Tell me that!"

"Everyone does their part."

"Where is the money? Or are you spending it on locking the city down?" Ezio demanded, drawing his sword. "I can barely even look at you, you sick imitation of a human!"

"Imitation?"

"You have no heart, no soul, it was all eaten by your greed! People's _lives_ have been spent!"

"A necessary loss, boy." He held his hammer to Ezio. "And you…" he was obviously ready for combat, "…are against the law, now."

"The _law_…" Ezio spat on the word. He paced to his left, keeping his eyes on Ulrich. "…it is no _law_. You disgrace the language by misusing it so."

"What would you suggest, outsider?"

"You be removed from office, the town be unlocked…"

"The people, given freedom to think for themselves," Ulrich said, looking at the young man before him, "would only cause destruction upon themselves. This cannot be allowed."

"I've never heard such _stronzate_? Such bullshit?" Ezio yelled back, "You idiot!"

"Enough! I'll execute you myself!"

"Oh, good luck hanging me with the rest!" Ezio taunted, as guards took the stage as well. "Or will you stand and fight me? Do you have the balls to fight me alone?" He had to bluff; he couldn't take on that many people at once.

Ulrich merely chuckled. "I needn't prove myself to a fool such as yourself, Assassin." Ezio sheathed his weapon and darted away from the battle, leaping into the crowd which backed away from him as though he carried the plague. Rolling to his feet, he ran headlong away from the guards which charged after him. Leland was in hot pursuit as well; he had his word that he would be the one to end his life.

Ezio rounded a corner, leaping onto a trash can, knocking it over as he grabbed onto a ledge, leaping up a story. Landing on the edge of a home's balcony, he counted his blessings as a part-time acrobat that he could stay up. He ran along the white, railing, before leaping again onto a rooftop. He tripped on a loose tile, which fell off of the roof, and grabbed onto another tile before he followed.

Getting back to his feet, he looked down at the guards who had already begun scaling the building. He drew his blade: this was perfect for picking them off one by one until he and the Captain were the last ones. He kicked the tiling under his feet, loosening it, and kicked it out completely when a guard reached the roof. The tiles fell from under his hands from a domino effect started by the pseudo Assassin on the roof. His scream, as well as the screams of other guards, could be heard before a _splat_ sound. Ezio winced briefly, but remained ready to take others out.

He gazed over the edge, sitting on his knees so he wouldn't fall over. The bodies of three guards were limp on the ground, and two others were climbing. Ulrich remained on the ground, watching his every move.

"Give up?" Ezio taunted, still minding his balance.

"I'm not the one who's running," Ulrich responded, a cold emotionless evil in his voice, "like a coward, am I?"

"You send your men to their deaths so easily, captain," he yelled back, motioning to the last two guards who had climbed a story already. "Any idea why the people fear you? You, a crazy, reckless, monster have been made into the Captain of the guard."

"You have the nerve to call me reckless?" Ezio kicked a tile, sending it down on a guard. He valiantly attempted to block it with his hand, but it knocked him off, regardless, taking the other with him to the grave.

"It's just you and me, Captain," Ezio called out, "What now?"

The captain fiddled with his glove, eventually removing it. His hand was normal, save for a glowing mark on it. He clenched his fist, and kicked off of the wall, almost leaping to the top of the building in a single bound. Ezio gasped a little; he did what he had to strain to do, in a single movement. That mark, whatever it was, meant bad news for him.

"Before you beg mercy on yourself…" the captain muttered, just loud enough so Ezio could hear him, "…you are the one who rebelled."

He leaped across the rooftops, Ezio barely dodging out of the way as he landed. He clambered back to his feet, leaping off of the building, ready to land into a roll. Ulrich was right behind him. What he was doing should be impossible. Everything he knew said what Leland was capable of was impossible. Everything outside Skingrad was impossible, it seemed.

Landing into a roll, Ezio dashed through the crowd, panting as he rounded a corner. He heard a crash as the Captain followed, smashing all objects in his way. He rounded another corner, outside the alleyway, running out across the bridge. His heartbeat was painful, his breath taken in short gasps. But Leland still followed. He couldn't run back to the hideout; too late for that.

"You cannot run, Assassin!" he called from behind. Ezio finally came to a stop, hands on his knees, panting. Sweat beaded down his face as he turned to face the Captain, drawing his blade. Running obviously wasn't going to work. He drew his blade, still trying to catch his breath. The captain smugly lifted his hammer, bringing it down swiftly. Ezio rolled out of the way, the hammer's strike causing the earth around him to quake.

He stood, gradually getting his bearings. His heartbeat was slowing subtly, but he knew it was. The captain swung his hammer horizontally, putting his whole body into the attack. Ezio backpedaled a step to avoid it, but the wind that came along the swing sent him a distance. Landing on his shoulder, he rolled to his stomach where he pushed up to his feet in time to jump back from the next downward attack. He gripped his shoulder, which shot pain through his whole body.

The Captain swung once more at him, and he ducked this time, the wind still throwing him a little ways. Rolling back to his feet, the realization that playing defense wasn't going to work, either. "You spoke a good deal back at the gallows," he muttered, looking at the white robed man before him, "it seems, however, you cannot fight as you speak. You only dodge, and defend, or run…" he swung his hammer again, this time his foe leaped backward, out of the wind's rage. "…do you even know what it is to be a man?"

"I know…" Ezio muttered, looking at the Captain's approach, "…to fight for my beliefs…"

The Breton captain swung his hammer, this time the response was to somersault underneath the attack. The wind threw him aside, but he charged in toward his enemy. He swung his sword at his enemy, who blocked it with his plated gauntlet, leaving his hammer to the ground momentarily. Taking this chance, Ezio kicked the arm that was holding the hammer, a clear effect showing on his face.

He followed up with another strike of his sword, blocked again with the gauntlet. The gauntlet, however, cracked slightly. He kicked the guard in the chest this time, knocking his defense off completely, and kneed him in the face. He went into the air, and landed on the ground, hard. Taking his chance, Ezio yanked the hammer away, tossing it as far as he could. The splash of water could be heard as it landed.

The knight stood once more, looking at Ezio with an evil, angered look. "Eden holds no place for you." He muttered, and charged at the boy. Out of instinct, he thrust his sword forward for defense, impaling the man along the sword. He coughed blood onto his white robes, but the real gore was on his sword.

"What do you mean…" Ezio muttered, containing his fear, "…no place in Eden?"

"You'll find out…but I won't…" he coughed more blood onto Ezio, "…let you go…without…something to…remember me…by…" he grabbed Ezio's face with his marked hand, and pain reverberated through Ezio's soul. It tore at him, he screamed. It ripped him apart. His yells echoed across Tamriel. He saw eternal darkness. Leland had blinded him…Leland had blinded him!

His eyes were glued shut, but he heard nothing. Opening his left eye, he made out that he was still standing, with Leland's body still on his sword. He pushed him off, trying to open his right eye. It wouldn't open, for whatever reason. Cleaning his blade on the captain's clothes, he sheathed it, and kneeled over to the dead body. "Requiescat in pace…" he muttered, standing up again. He headed back to the hideout.

Before reaching the hideout, his right eye opened. It opened, but too fast. There was a flash, and when it cleared, Ezio was seeing almost everything. His eye was better than ever…he could see every little thing that could trip him, everything that could make him falter. He wasn't sure of the ramifications, but he could certainly see much better now.

Another flash, and it was back to normal. He was at the door to the hideout, when he heard a voice behind him. "You…you actually killed the bastard…" Garrus said, Ezio's startled gaze now upon him.

"It was necessary…are the people safe?" he asked, to which garrus nodded. "Good. Then let us hope this is the last time we see each other."

"Good bye, then."

Ezio opened and closed the door, walking inside and into the darkness. His vision went white again, and in the aftermath he could make out images in the darkness: he could see. Almost perfectly: it was as though the lights were never off. As he travelled downward, he reached the hallway, and made his way toward the door. Opening it, he saw the faces of the Assassins, however, each of them glowed blue. He wondered what that meant, but they were all giving him funny looks as well.

"Uh…kid? What happened…to your eye?" the Denmaster asked, leaning forward in his chair.

"Leland attacked me one last time before he died. He said something like 'I wasn't welcome in Eden', and attacked. I'm not sure what it was…" he muttered, as his vision went white once more and vision returned to normal, "…but it seems to be working for my advantage at the moment."

"I see…so Leland is dead?"

"_Si,_"

"Good." The Denmaster said, and tossed Ezio a bracer. It had the symbol that was around so many places in Skingrad, an odd A-like shape with a marking underneath. "That Bracer will attach to your Hidden Blade. Made of better metals than the one you have on there currently. That is the symbol of the Assassins on it, so you won't be mistaken for anything less." He motioned his hand as soon as Ezio moved to return it. "You have joined us, Ezio, by slaying Leland. It is time you heard the truth."

"What truth?" Ezio asked angrily and impatiently, dreams of returning home in reach.

"Ulrich Leland wasn't the only man with such hostile intentions in Tamriel. In fact, he is part of a much larger organization, a cult of size and power that rivals even us," he leaned farther toward Ezio, "they aren't regarded as much, but they are…the Knights Templar."

"That means nothing to me," Ezio replied, "As criminals, they ought to be defeated by the authorities, not a shadow organization."

"That's just the thing," the Denmaster said, looking at Ezio in the eye, "In many instances, they've taken control of the authorities. Here is the greatest example: the Captain was a Templar, and subdued the whole town, extorting their money for the Templar cause."

"That being?"

"That being the whole of Cyrodiil under the same control they had Cheydinhal under, and eventually, all of Tamriel." The Denmaster elaborated, "At this rate of uncontrolled growth, they'll soon have it. They are already all over Cyrodiil, we just hadn't anticipated them to make such a drastic attempt to take a major city yet." He placed his hand on Ezio's shoulder. "My name is Hawk. And yours?"

"Ezio Auditore." He muttered, removing his hood.

"Now you understand, at least at an angle, what the Assassins are trying to do," he said, "Your fight with Leland was seen by pretty much everyone, don't be surprised. I've already sent notification to the Grandmaster of your feat, and of course, we are investigating his corpse for what was making him so powerful."

"_Grazie_," Ezio said, and backed up a bit. He looked at the bracer he was still holding. He removed the bracer he had already had, the bronze sun rising, and placed the silver one with the Assassin's Symbol on it. "I must be off."

"Listen, if you encounter anyone else with these weird powers, please notify me. I'm interested as well." Ezio nodded, and turned around. "Where are you headed next?"

"I can't get a boat through Niben Bay," Ezio said, "I'll have to take the trip around the Imperial City. I'll head through Bruma on my way, of course."

"I see," Hawk said, "Be careful. There will doubtlessly be many like Leland on your path," he said, "but while you're in Bruma, I'd like you to check in with the Assassin Guild there, make sure everyone's okay, and let them know we're okay."

"I will, if I see them."

"Trust me, you'll see them," Hawk said, smiling, "You know what you're looking for." Ezio turned around, and started walking away. On his way out of the city, he saw the beggar he had initially saved, looking at him. He waved. Ezio smiled a little, knowing he had done the town a service.

"Kid! Wait!" he heard Garrus' familiar voice from behind him.

"What is it? I'm in a hurry," he replied, moving his legs like a kid who needed to go pee.

"If you're ever back in Cheydinhal, look me back up. You're always welcome." Ezio smiled. "Also, take a horse from the stables. Cheydinhal has the greatest horses in all Tamriel!" he boasted,

"I never told you my name," Ezio said, and smiled, "Ezio Auditore."

"Well, good bye Ezio," Garrus said, smiling, "Hope to see you again soon."

"Maybe next time won't be so bloody," Ezio chuckled. He turned around and opened the gate, heading back outside. The walls never bothered Ezio in his stay in Cheydinhal, but now he was glad to be free of them. A horse was waiting for him, pitch black. The stableman looked at him, smiled a bit, and walked away. He mounted the horse, and looked in the direction he was headed in next.

"The snows of Bruma…" he muttered, and yelled a command at the horse and sped off into the distance.


	6. Bruma Brotherhood Opening: Mockingbird

Dark clouds hung over the sky as the Assassin walked out of the sewers, onto a dock behind the Imperial city. His white robes swayed lightly with the wind. Readjusting his cape, he looked across the lake. Is this where he could have gone…? To Cheydinhal? An odd choice. The Assassin picked a boat on the river, and begun rowing across, on his way to Cheydinhal as well.

Ezio had been riding for awhile, through the woods. He stuck off of the main path for obscurity's sake, but the journey was made that much harder for that fact. On more than one occasion did he battle a bandit or a wild beast from his mount, or flee them.

He looked at his breath as he exhaled. It was definitely getting colder. The trees were getting dryer and dryer as he continued in the direction of Bruma. He folded the bulk of his robes forward for warmth: he was glad he had a hood at this moment. The sound of the hooves trotting through snow soon replaced the soft, hissing sound of the grass. The wind grew harsh, icy, as opposed to the peace of the Cheydinhal forests.

He soon saw Bruma, it's walls contrasting against the snow. Two guards stood by the gate, looking like that was the last place they wanted to be. Looking down toward his horse to keep his face hidden, he soon approached the gate.

"Welcome to Bruma, traveler," one said, looking at him, "It isn't often we see visitors. Come in, make yourself welcome."

"_G-g-grazie…_" Ezio shuddered, dismounting his horse. The guards opened the doors, and he entered, looking around at the log-cabin style of architecture the Nords were famous for. He shuddered violently, making for the nearest cabin. A villager left one cabin, the sound of music emanating from it, so Ezio headed toward it as fast as he could.

Opening the door, he felt some extra warmth within the cabin, but not much better than the outside. These people must have been extremely thick-skinned, or have an internal furnace, to be able to stand it for long. One of the villagers noticed him right off, walking up to him.

"Hello there, stranger! My name's Olav, welcome to Bruma!"

"_S-s-salute…_" Ezio said, his teeth chattering through his voice. "…I-I'm l-l-l-looking….looking for…" he said, before Olav left. Great, rude people. It was only a moment before he returned with a heavy blanket, tossing it around the freezing boy.

"Sorry, I forgot how cold it gets for some people here," Olav said, "You sound like a Skingrad man," he said, sitting at across the table from Ezio. The warm light set a good, friendly atmosphere around. He leaned forward, "And are dressed as one of the Cheydinhal Brotherhood."

"I'm trying to get back to Skingrad," Ezio muttered, looking at the man. Great, he thought, more _assassini._

"I see. Cheydinhal has been silent for some time, any idea why?"

"The Templars had the whole town locked down," Ezio replied, "I killed the captain, Ulrich Leland, and freed them."

"An Assassin worth his salt, eh?" Olav said, then chuckled, slapping his hand on Ezio's shoulder.

"No, I refuse the title Assassin." He replied, killing the mood. "I only want to get home."

"I see. So is Hawk alright?"

"That remains for the Denmaster to hear," Ezio said, looking at Olav, "not a normal Assassin."

"Ah, but I am the Denmaster. What better way to stay hidden than in plain sight?" he said, smiling. "Best thing is, they all trust me. I can announce my vows as an Assassin, they'd think I was joking."

"I see."

"Marvelous, isn't it?" Olav said, leaning back, "So, how's Hawk?"

"He's doing fine," Ezio muttered, "He wanted me to let you all know that. He also wanted me to see if you needed any help, but—"

"As a matter of fact, we do." Olav said, and leaned forward. "You ever hear of the Master Assassins? Of course not, they're _that_ legendary. They work directly for the Grandmaster himself. Unfortunately," he said, and looked over his shoulder, "One of them, Altair Ibn la'Ahad, from Anvil, has gone rogue. He's currently in Bruma, but the thing is, we can't tell who or where he is. We are suspecting him of the murder of Bradon Lirrian," he stood up, "Follow me."

Ezio stood up with a huff. "_Perfetto_…" he muttered, walking behind Olav as he opened a series of doors into an underground cavern similar to Cheydinhal's setup. He walked downward as he followed the old man, who opened a locker. The cold was already coming back. As if reading his mind, Olav produced a much heavier-looking set of robes, a cloak running along the collar of the robe, opposed to the cape on his back currently.

"Put this on, and we'll talk. These robes will keep you warm." He said. Leaving Ezio alone, he could only smile. Poor kid…

Ezio took off the Cheydinhal robes, quickly putting on the heavier ones. The warmth settled in, and he pulled his hood over his head. Picking up the Cheydinhal robes, he put them into the locker. He walked back up to the tavern, where Olav was cleaning the bar counter. "Back?" he asked, his tone still happy.

"Yes."

"Now, the town guard is already investigating, and I've got a few Assassins on it already." He explained, "but we believe that Altair is already getting ready to leave. The only other inn in the city is a little further North, the Jerall View Inn. That is where he is most likely staying."

"Why don't you have one of your Assassins check on this?"

"I am. That would be you." Olav said. "Good luck, and if you see him let us know. He _is_ a Master Assassin, well above all of our level in killing skill. We'll need to trap him."

"Right…" Ezio muttered, opening the door. He was hoping for a night of rest and to be gone by morning, but that didn't seem like much of a possibility now. The Inn was in the distance, and as he made his way over to it, he saw it was a story up. Walking upstairs, he bumped into a man wearing white robes as well. Another Assassin. His robes were very different than the other Bruma Assassins, or at least based off of Ezio's robes, it seemed that way.

"You aren't of Bruma, are you?" Ezio asked, in a cold tone. The man stopped, and stood there.

"Neither are you, lost one."

"Are you Altair?"

"Are you Ezio?" Ezio's eyes shot open as he spun to see the man's face.

"How did you…?"

"In my time in Skingrad, I noticed more about you than you believed," he explained. A memory played through Ezio's mind: one of Giovanni's special guests. "When I came back through Skingrad, both you and Giovanni were missing. You aren't tall enough to be Giovanni, nor do you have a deep voice as he." Ezio's eyes narrowed.

"You can find all this out by looking at my mannerisms, and things you knew in the past," he started, "Mind telling me why you betrayed the Assassins?"

"I didn't. My target, however, made it seem like I did."

"A likely story,"

"You wouldn't understand. Too young. But my target is 'Welcomed by Eden', or so he says."

"Welcomed by Eden?" He felt his eye. Leland had said he _wasn't_ welcome in Eden when he attacked Ezio's eye. "Did he have a strange mark anywhere on his body?"

"Listen, I don't have time for this," he said, "he's already gotten to killing people in Bruma as well. I've tailed him all the way from Anvil, I'm not about to let him slip through my fingers again." Altair walked away, into the snowy reaches of Bruma.

Ezio was left to ponder this whole subject of "Eden". Last he heard, Eden was the holy land of a pagan cult who didn't believe in the Nine Divines. He turned around, and headed back towards Olav's tavern. His cloak swayed with the wind. His vision went white, and he fell to his knees. A shadow was on the snow. He looked up to see an Eagle. A golden trail led to the church, a blue trail followed Altair, and a guard enveloped in red approached him.

"Are you okay, boy?" he asked, lending him a hand. He had a cross on his chest, his eyes showed hatred. A deep hatred. Something in his physique spoke to Ezio: he wanted the Assassins eradicated. Within his hand, he held a friendly gesture. In the other hand, a sword to pierce his heart. This was crazy; could he believe this instinct?

He readied the Hidden Blade from his left hand, and took the guard's hand. The guard pushed his sword toward Ezio, but not fast enough: he had already been impaled through the throat by the Hidden Blade. Releasing his hand, he pushed the guard over. His vision went white once more, returning to normal as the dead guard fell to the ground.

Whatever that was about, he retracted the Hidden Blade back into its miniature sheath, and headed toward the church.

Upon entering the church, looking at the large, marble-stone walls that seemed to reach to the heavens. Even the ceiling seemed to be as high as the sky, signifying the height of the Nine. Ezio himself never placed himself anywhere when it came to the Nine—he neither counted on them nor denied them. If asked whether they existed, however, he would tell them no, they did not.

The preacher had just started a sermon, to which everyone inside was intently listening. Ezio needed time to sort out what had just happened between him and that guard. So what if the Eye told him he was bad? What if the red actually meant good? What did the gold or blue mean?

He also needed to find Altair's imposter for him, to help him get on with his life. He chuckled a bit. Him, defeating the imposter of a Master Assassin? He didn't know much, but he knew that in order to be feared by the rest of the organization, they had to be pretty powerful. And for one of them not to have silenced him yet, well, that just made it even worse.

The choir had already stood before the altar, singing the praises of the Nine in a chorus that almost drowned out all thought. Ezio looked up, seeing Altair walking down the aisle. Curious, he looked closer. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, until he got too close to the minister. He didn't need the Eye to tell him what happens next. He vaulted over the seat before him, running along the various benches, launching his own Hidden Blade. He leaped at Altair, ready to kill.

Alas, he was too late, and the minister had already been stabbed through the heart with the signature weapon of the Assassins. He retracted the blade in time to see Ezio's incoming attack, before successfully dodging the attack, causing Ezio to slam hard into the ground.

"Altair!" he yelled, before the Eye activated, showing him to be the same color as the guard from earlier who tried to kill him. "No…the imposter!" At first the man seemed surprised. How had Ezio known? Then he looked at his eye a little closer, and understanding came over his face.

"You have a Mark as well…" he muttered, drawing his sword.

"A Mark?"

"Your eye, man! Your eye!" he yelled, pulling his gauntlet off to show the mark on his wrist, glowing golden in contrast with the red. "One of the Eden Bearers!"

"I have no clue what you speak of," Ezio replied, drawing his own sword. This man was an able killer, he could tell. "Tell me of these Marks!"

"The Marks of Eden, you idiot! You have one, you should know!"

"A 'Mark of Eden'…" he muttered, and chuckled. "Is that what they're called? Interesting. I killed one of you already."

"What?" the man yelled. "How did you kill him? It was your eye, wasn't it? What does it do?"

"He gave me the eye, saying I wasn't 'Welcome in Eden'…care to mention to me what that means?"

"So, you're a Cursed Bearer…different than me," he muttered, then laughed, "I'll kill you then, Cursed One!"

He came at Ezio with great agility, mere instinct allowing him to defend the attack. Knocking his foe's blade aside, he made to punch the man in the gut, but the attack was blocked. They disengaged, and Ezio took a breath. This man wasn't incredibly strong or fast…what was his mark's power? Then he realized; his mark was golden, the gilded trail on the ground led to him. He could see other 'Marks of Eden'.

"Tell me of Eden," he shouted, putting his blade before him as he readied to fight.

"I cannot, and will not, Cursed One!" he yelled maniacally, before coming at Ezio again. He ducked under a horizontal slash, then punched upward towards his jaw, but was blocked by a quick palm thrusting him to the right. His momentum carried him to the air, leaving him vulnerable to attack. He made to roll into a fall, however, instead of taking whatever punishment the copy had stored for him.

Regaining his stance, Ezio's eye showed his recent movements. It was weird…he could see what just happened, and what was happening, at the same time. The man spun, upon closer examination he was thrusting forward with his blade. Using his bracer, he knocked the blade to the left, using momentum to send the man flying. As he ascended and gravity took over once more, he thrust upward with his sword.

That should have been it. The last blow, the final attack. He should have been bleeding, dead on the ground. However, he somehow predicted this, and pushed the blade to the side with his free hand, rolled to the side, and miraculously landed on his feet. He backpedaled out of the boy's range.

"This is…crazy!" he muttered, looking at the man.

"I'll admit, for your power being sapped, you're doing quite well in a fight," the man said, and readied to boast. "You obviously fought one with a less refined gift. You see, unlike super strength or speed…" he took a bow, then snapped his head toward Ezio, "I can copy anything of anyone. I copied the Master Assassin's look, and his skills. Little did I know, I could combine these skills…" he said, taking up his initial position. "I have both yours and his ability!"

Ezio looked at him. Was he serious? Did he have the Eye as well? Did he even know of the Eye? "Let's say I don't believe you…"

"Foolish Assassin. I don't care if you believe me; it's a privilege to know one's Power of Eden." He said looking at his foe with a great amount of superiority. "If you don't believe me, you will quite simply die." He ran at Ezio once more, stabbing forward. He pushed the blade along momentum once more, but found a deadly surprise at the counter to that. A Hidden Blade shot out of his wrist, and went straight for Ezio's throat. Were it not for the Eye predicting the attack, he wouldn't have been able to dodge the motion.

He leaned back from the attack, his head nearly passing his hips, as his foe spun from missing the attack. Landing, he huffed, and looked at Ezio. "What did you…how did you do that?" he muttered, before letting out a yelp. A blade pierced his heart, and he leaned back against his attacker, the true Altair.

The Eye told him of Altair's intentions, that he was good. He had come to label these different colors. Red were those who meant him harm, and blue were those that meant a possible, or maybe even, an ally. And gold were other Marks of Eden. What happened next, Ezio could only barely hear:

"You are…not welcome in…Eden…" he muttered, before spinning. Blood flew out of his chest as he lunged at Altair's face. Unable to react, his palm went straight over his face. Ezio charged over, tackling him off of the Master Assassin. Landing, he rolled with the man in his grip.

"Tell me your name!" he demanded, drawing his Hidden Blade. The man merely smirked. "Very well. Requiescat in pace, _bastardo_." With that, he slammed the weapon into his throat, killing him instantly. He ran over to Altair, who remained on the ground. Closer examination showed he was grimacing instead of screaming: whether he screamed in his head or no, Ezio could only guess. He had hoped he got the man off in time.

He picked up the mass of white, and walked outside the church, where everyone waited. Olav, disguised as the Denmaster, stood at the by the door. "What are you doing, help us!" he yelled, and Assassins broke from the crowd to help Ezio lift the Master, who seemed to get heavier and heavier to Ezio's tiring arms.

Later that night, Ezio was seated before the Denmaster, who had a boiling cup of tea ready for the boy. "What you are going through, Ezio," he muttered, handing him the cup, "Is very stressful for a young boy. You and Altair both." The boy raised a brow. "I've had my Assassins do some research on the Marks of Eden, as well as traded notes with Hawk and the Grandmaster. These Marks are, more or less, unlocking a greater potential within us. It is all powered by the Daedric Princes, whom of which have extremely advanced versions of these powers. Frighteningly powerful abilities that make even yours pale in comparison."

"To both me and Altair, they said we weren't 'welcome in Eden'. Any idea what that means?"

"Eden, as you may know, is the final resting place for a few cults outside the Nine Divines. It is also known as the starting place of all existence, where sin is born. Here's the juiciest part: the Templars uphold the cult, and all its beliefs."

"So we've been denied heaven?" Ezio asked, getting to the point.

"That's my best guess. Right now we're trying to find the difference between the 'Blessed Bearers' and the 'Cursed Bearers'; you and Altair versus all the other Bearers."

"How can I be rid of this blasted thing?" he asked, taking a sip of the tea in an attempt to calm himself.

"I honestly don't think you can. And you aren't going to like this next bit of news one bit…" the Denmaster replied. "The Grandmaster wishes for you to stay in Bruma and train alongside Altair; you two are a tag team now."

"What?" Ezio said, jumping up. His tea spilled on the floor. "I can't stay! I have something that needs to go to Jauffre! I have a home I need to get back to!"

"You'd be hard pressed doing anything in Cyrodiil against the Grandmaster's wishes, whether you know of him or not." Olav replied, solemnly. "Besides, with you and Altair being the only two people we have who bear a Mark of Eden, you two are the only ones who might be able to track them down." He looked at Ezio, who was dumbfounded.

"I…I…" he muttered, falling into his seat.

"I'm sorry, Ezio." His head fell into his hands, anger, fear, hatred welling up within him.

"Why me? I'm fifteen, sixteen in a month! I am a child who already knows to kill and is prepared to do it again!"

"Have you met some of our younger recruits," Olav started, "Trained to kill since birth. They had no childhood. You see this as a darker side of life, but they have never known any different. Is that fair? Is that just?" Ezio bared his teeth. He knew all this to be true, in some sense.

"All just to fight a cult? Does that make you any better?" he asked, under his breath. Olav still seemed to hear, or he expected the question.

"To defend Cyrodiil, we rival the Blades, protecting the Emperor from the shadows," he said. "Now get some rest; tomorrow you're getting your first official contract."

"Hired to kill…"

"You'll be interested once you get the contract. They aren't _all_ about killing people—I doubt many would be left in Cyrodiil were that to be the truth." Olav said, chuckling. Then, with a fatherly look in his eye, he patted Ezio's shoulder. "I'm sorry you got pulled into this, but please understand this is needed."


	7. BB: Dreams and Death

Darker Side of Life: Dreams of Death

Ezio made his way to the room Olav had specified, a handy rusted key snugly fitted between his fingers, clenched to the palm of the hand. The hallway wasn't very long; with Cyrodiil's tax rate, and Bruma's standards, the Tap n' Tack didn't get much in the way of revenue, even with the flow of Assassins in and out of Cyrodiil. Therefore, not many rooms were available to the boy, who was even still trying to grasp the ideas behind becoming an Assassin.

His mind floated to Altair, as well. He was a mysterious man, and his motives never did seem all that clear to Ezio, an expert at the job. That meant he was a highly trained killer, able to keep his conscience at bay whenever necessary, his nerves steeled to that of a heartless villain. Maybe he found solace in something, some inner peace that allowed such a work to be done. Whatever it was, it was a quality Ezio did not have.

In the time of battle, he executed his enemies easily enough. They were in his way, nothing but obstacles that instincts told him to remove. After the adrenaline passed, and the anger subsided, the blood was still definitely on his hands. Ulrich Leland, and now that man who was impersonating Altair…

Both were men he was told needed to die. He didn't care for the whole story, nor would he ever. Nothing in his mind, save for the raw adrenaline rush and instincts pushing him on, justified the murder of another man.

He had finally made it to his room, and placed the key into the keyhole. He turned it, producing a rusty "click!", and the door opened easily enough. As the boy walked into the room, he saw his breath, reminding him of the sheer cold that was Bruma, and possibly much of Skyrim. Maybe he would just sleep in his robes tonight, he thought to himself as he laid down in the bed, pulling the rags that were meant to be sheets over him, and embracing himself tightly to keep all the warmth to himself.

Yes…warmth…Skingrad…Auditore Hall…he needed to get back to there. To get back to where he was supposed to be, and out of all this murderous nonsense. His eyes closed as he tried to remember the faces of his father and brother, his sister and mother… even of that stuck-up Count, and the familiar accent that all Skingrad had taken as its own.

His mind was finally filled with the blank darkness that was definitely sleep. His breath became easy, but as time went by, had become disgruntled and fearful once more. Instead of dreams about his family, and his goals, he saw something…very different.

He was on a hill. If he had to take a good guess, he would say he was just outside of one of the southern cities…Kvatch, maybe…the real bone-chilling moments came next, as he was blasted with enormous amounts of heat. He spun to see a huge formation of rock, with what seemed like flames spewing forth from the depths. Monsters poured out of it, the likes of which Ezio had never seen, all coming at him.

"For the Emperor!" he could hear behind him. He turned to see Imperial Soldiers and town guards bearing arms and charging towards the gate. The monsters, hellish creatures wearing the armor of man and bearing twisted versions of swords and axes, bows and staves, returned the soldier's sentiment, charging forth. Blood flew. It didn't pour, or splash, or spill. There was too much force for any of those descriptions to be of any accuracy—it flew. It definitely flew as the parties clashed. The cries of man could be heard. Ezio ducked under one of their attacks, then realized he was taking part in the battle as well.

He drew his blade and faced the demons coming at him—whatever this was, it wasn't something he understood. He ducked under one of the demon's attacks and tried to slash upward with his shortsword, however he was blocked by the demon's seemingly impenetrable armor. Taken off-guard, he was too weak to block the demon as it brought its axe down upon him, smashing him to the ground.

Blood seeped from Ezio as he realized he had just been axed in the chest, and the gaping wound left behind was something he wouldn't recover from. Gritting his teeth, he grabbed the axe, refusing to let the demon retrieve its weapon. It struggled against him, pain filling Ezio's mind as he slowly lost consciousness, until a blade slipped between the complexly laid plates of the armor, killing the beast in one blow.

A white-robed man stepped out from behind him. At first, Ezio thought of Altair, then the man removed his hood, revealing a white-haired old man. Ezio forced himself to stand as the man knelt beside him, speaking in a language Ezio couldn't understand. "What are you saying?" Ezio said through his teeth, trying his damndest to keep from screaming in pain.

To no avail, however. He couldn't understand the man. Maybe the man couldn't understand him, either? Finally, he heard a name he recognized. Septim. "Wait!" Ezio said, grabbing the man by the shoulders. He began to melt, flesh becoming blood before Ezio's eyes. "No! Wait, oh god no!" he yelled, the axe fading from existence. Was this the end, he wondered, as he felt lightheaded.

Light shined into his eyes as he awoke, Olav slapping his face. "Wake up, boy! You're keeping us all up, you might as well be up, too." He said, pulling Ezio up. "Bad dreams? It happens sometimes…but you were saying an awful lot of nothing, there, it seemed. Mind telling me where you learned to speak that language? I think I'd pick it up as well."

Ezio pushed his hand off his shoulder, his sweating coming to a halt. He was talking in a weird language? The dream was burned into his mind. The old man talking to him in a weird language, the battle that had broken out on the hill…

"Anyway, Altair seems to have gotten better. No crazy dreaming on his end, so he's perfectly sane. We hope, you never can tell with Master Assassins. They're like gods of war, they are. You send one, and I mean _one_ on a mission, and it gets done, no matter what. They're scary like that."

"Then why the pairing? Learn about whatever this…" he pointed to his eye, "…is from him and him alone. Let me be!"

"Like I said, you were destined to become an Assassin, anyway."

"More like doomed."

"Different words, different connotations. Same meaning." Olav replied, swiftly winning the verbal battle. "We have a few missions ready for you, but fortunately you're on your way out after one of them. You see, we have a small problem of town peace…"

"You want someone killed." Ezio said cynically.

"Only if necessary." Olav said, waving a hand to dismiss Ezio's "enthusiasm" about the affair. "Altair is already prowling the city about the case. However, you have your own end of the mission." Ezio looked up, curious, "But first, you must hear about the mission."

"Does this talking in circles never end? Speak your piece already, man!" Ezio shouted, his hands clenched in frustration.

"Not much the dramatic one, are you?"

"I don't tend to be after dreams like the one I had." Ezio retorted. "Will you just explain the mission and my connection with it already?"

"I see. A well-known couple around these parts, Arnora and Jorundr, have recently returned to Bruma. Now, the problem is that one of them was arrested for the murder of quite a few people, and now his money is unavailable to Arnora."

"This involves us…how?"

"The Assassins seek peace amongst the inhabitants of not only Cyrodiil, but all Tamriel. That being the case, we naturally need to get involved in the people's affairs." He looked at the boy. "'We work in the dark, to serve the light. We are Assassins.'"

"Different than the many definitions of the word I've heard."

"Because we're not the same Assassins of which you've heard." Ezio looked Olav in the face in disgust.

"Does it matter who pays us to kill who? We're still the ones staining our hands with blood!"

"You look only at the act of murder and judge us by it. It is a large part of our life, and a larger part of your life than you yet realize, boy." He said. "We kill the one to save the hundred. We hold the blade to the neck of the man who would seek the destruction of all men; we sway tyrants with ransom and information, we turn the very tides of war with our hidden blades."

"And who judges who is to die?" Ezio burst out.

"The ones we kill are the ones who have judged themselves for death."

"This makes no sense! How am I expected to murder at the beck and call of some man I have never met!"

"Because he speaks for the man you were incapable of protecting. The man who died because of another's hesitation to do what was necessary for the country, that same man who ran the whole of Cyrodiil, and all Tamriel!" Ezio paused; he was not expecting such a retort. "It would have been different if that were a growing experience for you, but if you still hesitate, you will cause far more death than you anticipate."

Ezio stood up, and began moving to the exit. "Speak to Arnora. See if you can figure out what exactly happened. Hopefully we shall avoid any murder, but if it comes down to it, Auditore, I expect you to not hold your blade." The boy nodded gruffly, moving to the exit, angered by the fact he lost the argument.

The walk to Arnora's home had been largely uneventful as the heavily-robed man trotted through the snow. Somewhere, the Master Assassin prowled, looking at Ezio. Examining him. It was unnerving, however he finally found the resolve to speak with Arnora about the events transpiring around the loss of money.

The boy knocked on the door, snow falling faintly on his hood. He breathed out, his breath visible on the cold air still. He waited for what seemed like hours, still wondering about his dream, his motives…was it even worth returning home, now? He was a murderer, and getting better at the act day by day. Not only that, his mind was starting to rationalize the murder of each person. It disgusted him, but at the same time, his mind slowly deemed it more and more necessary.

He finally heard footsteps, and composed himself. When the door opened, a lovely woman stood before him. "Hello there."

"Who are you?" the woman asked, worried about something.

"Call me Ezio. May I know the name of the lovely lady before me…?" he asked, a smile crossing his cheeks as he lifted his hand to just under her chin.

"Ooh, aren't you the charmer?" Arnora giggled, and moved Ezio's hand aside. "But do not take me for the fool. Why are you here?"

"Can't a nice woman such as yourself be visited by a kind nobleman every once in a while?" Ezio responded. This woman, Arnora, responded well to flattery. He cursed himself in his mind as he rationalized the usage of such a tactic against the woman. The woman folded her arms, smiling.

"Come inside. You've certainly earned my attention for a few minutes." Arnora said, gesturing that Ezio walk inside as well. "Why don't you remove your hood, nobleman?" she asked. Ezio complied, removing the hood. His brown hair, which he had not the chance to tie into a ponytail, fell around his neck. He turned just quick enough to be embraced by the woman, a passionate kiss following. Ezio, unsure of what was going on for a few seconds, decided to go with the flow, his arms rising behind her and pulling her into an embrace.

After a few moments, she finally released, looking slightly disappointed. "You claim to be a nobleman, then?" she asked, sitting down at a table.

"Indeed."

"And yet you carry no coinpurse on you?" Ezio's eyes widened with shock.

"Are you a cutpurse or something?" he asked, outrage clear in his voice.

"No offence, but for a charming boy, you're an easy mark. I probably could have made off with your fancy wardrobe as well while kissing you."

"So your love is farce?"

"I _have_ a husband, you know." Arnora said. Ezio couldn't help but be a little proud. He was the better one, here. Sneakier, he thought, than she. Stealing, not coin, but information.

"Oh. Hunting, I suppose?"

"No, he's…indisposed, at the moment. As in, in jail."

"What happened?" Ezio asked, still standing as he had not been offered a seat.

"He turned out to be a robber. He was caught after a bad bust, and arrested." She said, her voice rather easygoing.

"You speak rather casually for your spouse being arrested." Ezio said.

"I just kissed you to get to your money. Are you sure you'd put apathy towards that lout of a husband being arrested?"

"I was just making a remark."

"Indeed you were." Arnora was nonplussed by the conversation, Ezio could tell.

"Do you know exactly what happened?"

"Why would I tell you anything about that? Why _are_ you so interested in these affairs, anyway?"

Ezio was about to respond when he heard a knock on the door. Arnora looked to the door, and stood. "Expecting company?" Ezio asked, walking towards the door, as well.

"No, I'm not su—" Ezio nearly screamed as the eye activated, interrupting Arnora. The woman was blue, and there was red beyond the door, plain as day. Ezio drew the shortsword strapped under his cloak, pushing the woman aside as the door caved in. There were men wearing black cloaks, daggers drawn.

"Who are you?" Ezio demanded, his blade at the ready as the men began intruding in the home.

"We are of the Dark Brotherhood. The woman you protect has been sentenced for death."

"The Dark Brotherhood?" At Ezio's question, a few of the people exchanged glances.

"An Assassin who does not know our name? Intriguing." Said one of them. "Perhaps we could have use of you. But at a later date. We have a contract."

"Contracted killers." Ezio stated. "Assassins."

"In the underworld, Assassin, that word has more meaning than what we do. You must be new to the neighborhood to not know of this." They looked at the woman. "Kill her. Spare the Assassin if possible, disarm him if he attempts to stop us, kill him if he manages to kill one of us." The men charged gracefully. Ezio's eye charted their course, and before one could deliver a punch to his gut to take him to the ground, Ezio stabbed his shoulder.

He screamed in pain as Ezio grabbed the dagger off the man. The others began to focus on Ezio. Out of five people, he had three facing him down and one incapacitated. The last one Arnora would have to hold off as long as possible.

One came at him from the left while another attacked from the right. Flinching on instinct, Ezio merely dodged the attacks, instead of countering as he felt urged to. One came at him from behind, trying to plant his dagger firmly into his neck. Ezio spun just in time, however, to catch the arm by the wrist, and pull the man into his blade, blood oozing from the wound.

He pulled the dying killer before him, using him as a human shield against some of the other's attacks. Finally he shoved the dead man on one of his foes, disabling him temporarily so he could focus on the other man, lunging in with his knife. The killer deftly leapt out of the attack's range, and he began moving in for a counterattack, when Ezio's eye showed him how to counter the blow.

He didn't try and fight the momentum from his lunge. Instead, he followed it, falling into a roll, and getting out of the counter's way. His leg landed solidly giving him ample power to plunge his dagger straight into the throat of the man. Blood flew from the wound, the man not even having a dying scream. Ezio grabbed the second dead man's dagger, also forcefully removing the first dead man's dagger. Holding two daggers, the third man called for help.

"You are proving to be more trouble than you're worth, Assassin." The fourth one said, walking away from where Arnora was hiding.

"That's what they all say about me." Ezio replied. Olav's words filled Ezio's mind—killing the one to save the hundred. The bad to die so the good can live. Living in that darkness, that evil, was necessary so that the light and good could go on.

"A funny guy. I apologize, Assassin. You are now going to die."

"Bring it on, murderers." Ezio taunted, daggers at the ready. One coated in blood, the other still thirsting for it. They attacked, both at once. The eye guided him on kill number three, who had attacked a few split seconds before the fourth one. He brought his blade down on Ezio, who's eye had already plotted exactly how to destroy the poor man. He sidestepped the attack, his focus no longer on the fourth.

The left hand dagger went for the elbow, stabbing through it cleanly and disabling the arm. Using the hilt of the dagger as a handle to pull the man closer, he pushed the blade into the man's throat, and threw him at the fourth man, losing his left dagger in the process.

"Not just a novice Assassin, but a highly-trained killer." The fourth man remarked, smirking as though he were winning. "This fight alone will make a name for you in the underworld, boy. I hope you know that." He drew a sword from his pitch-black robes, pointing it at the boy. Ezio had already lost his sword in the combat, but still had his dagger and his Eye.

"A name that will have no meaning once I have done what I seek to do." Ezio's response was sharp, defensive.

"Names never lose meaning, Mister Ezio." The reply came. "And do be more careful about throwing your name around down here in the underworld. That can be the one fatal mistake of this little game we're playing."

"It's not even my real first name."

"Please, don't play the idiot, here. Your accent pins you as a man from Skingrad, and there is only one nobleman Ezio in Skingrad. Of the Auditore family, a family of highly-respected Assassins." Ezio was slightly shocked at the news.

"Now that you know so much about us…" Ezio looked around, "…it is only good that you die from us." A blade slipped through the man's chest easily and swiftly, revealing the Master Assassin behind him. "You're not bad, yourself, Auditore. A small band of Dark Brotherhood Mercenaries died by your hand. They're trained since birth, you know. It's a miracle you won…or is it?"

Ezio's eye sensed Altair as golden. He too, must have shared the super-Eye. The eye promptly deactivated. "It's an interesting ability, certainly, being cursed by Eden." Ezio commented.

"Who _are_ you?"

"Arnora. It's funny Jorundr was arrested, as opposed to you." Altair interjected as Ezio tried to answer. He merely pulled his hood back over his head and folded his arms. "Not much escapes the eye of the Assassins, madame. Especially not fraud and murder."

"What are you talking about?" Altair's hidden blade was launched with a _shink_, and he slammed her against the wall.

"You had Jorundr arrested for a crime you both committed. The robbery of a small caravan. By order of the Royal Affairs and Removals Office, you are hereby relieved of your personal vault, your ill-gotten earnings, and any weaponry and jewelry you may have."

"'Royal Affairs and Removals'?" Ezio asked, walking towards Altair. "And what gives you the right?"

"The Assassin Brotherhood is formally known as the Royal Affairs and Removals Office. As a Master Assassin, I am granted very nearly all the rights of a Prince to the throne." He looked at Arnora. "And you are to be arrested."

"W-wait…!"

"And before you claim innocence, I've already got plenty of evidence to the contrary. Jorundr's testimony and cooperation to get to the place you both stashed the loot really helped, too. Goods, which are forfeit to you now." Guards began walking into the room. "I've found her, sirs." He said as the guards stood beside her. "And now we're off, Auditore."

"Already?"

"Yes. Being an Assassin is pressing work." Altair replied. "Especially since you're stuck with the Brotherhood's go-to guy for everything."

"Surely there are other Master Assassins."

"If we could churn out Master Assassins like we could Assassins, or even Denmasters, life would be a lot easier. There are two, maybe three Master Assassins in Cyrodiil." Altair answered. "Anyone who'd attack us is stupid, anyone who's marked by us is dead. Simple as that. Doesn't mean we don't go all over all the time."

"You seem a lot more open than you were before."

"You seem a lot more skilled than you were before. We're headed to Kvatch, so get ready to be gone awhile." He replied, and began walking away. Ezio looked at the guards dealing with Arnora, and followed suit with Altair.

Altair and Ezio arrived at the Tap and Tack, where they were waved down by Olav. "Good work with those Dark Brotherhood lackeys, Ezio."

"I've been thinking about what you've said…"

"Yes?"

"Maybe it is better to kill people to defend the innocent. That doesn't mean I like it."

"It's a rare and frightful day," Altair interrupted, "when there is an Assassin who enjoys the job. I'm more surprised you, being a youth, don't revel in the violence."

"Says the prodigal Master Assassin." Olav responded. "Anyway, Kvatch sent out an urgent distress. An extreme event, actually. High-level risk."

"How high?"

"High enough you're not the only Master Assassin we're sending in." Altair folded his arms. Whether in surprise or not, Ezio couldn't tell.

"So we're pulling the others in, too?"

"You said there were only three in Cyrodiil?" Ezio asked.

"All three are headed in, Ezio." Olav said. "And because of your binding with Altair, so are you."

"What happened in Kvatch?" Altair asked.

"We don't know. That's what has the Grandmaster so worried." Olav said. "They sent out the distress then went silent. It could be Templar activity, but whatever it is, it isn't something minor. That high a risk distress call is not something you send out every week as a drill. Something's wrong."

"Will we stop by Skingrad on the way?"

"No. You're headed straight to Kvatch. No towns on the way—too important."

"Business as usual." Altair commented, grabbing some bags. "That blackwater horse of yours will make the trip just fine. We should head out within the hour. Be ready, Auditore."

"Right…" Ezio muttered. He was running right by home…but not visiting. He looked to the sky. "…if there really are Nine Divines, why do they curse me so?"


	8. The Ledger

Before anyone says anything, yes it has been absolutely forever since I have updated this dinosaur. School attacked me with incredible amounts of homework. That being said, let this chapter be the start of a continuing story, as I plan to take this story all the way through Oblivion, including the Shivering Isles and Knights of the Nine expansion DLC.  
That being said, I am also considering writing a Prince of Persia and Skyrim crossover. Leave your comments saying how you liked, or didn't like, my story, as well as which you want to see: Prince of Persia/Skyrim, or ACIII/Skyrim.  
Enjoy the latest chapter, "The Ledger"!

* * *

They had rode for a day or so, and had traversed a good deal of the lush landscape that is Cyrodiil. Ezio was feeling sore by now, and was regretting his fortune of being in Bruma at the right place and time, as Olav had described it as being. Altair had been going forward as though this was the norm for him.

He took a deep breath, and looked down at the black mane of his horse. He saw the bracers of his hidden blades, decorated with a somewhat modified symbol of the Nine Divines, to cement the standardized disguise of the Assassin Brotherhood; priests and monks.

He tightened his hands around the reigns, though if his knuckles were whitened all, he couldn't tell. They were covered in his Bruma Priest gloves, similar to a design commonly seen in Skyrim. They served a double purpose; the first purpose was to protect the wearer's hands from mistakenly getting diced by their own hidden blade. The second was to keep the warmth of the body in against the colds of Bruma, and further North.

His coat was heavy, even as the snow receded, and yielded to grass. A cabin appeared in the distance, and Altair shifted his course towards it. "I thought the order was to head straight to Kvatch?" Ezio called out, his horse quickly closing the distance between them.

"Don't be a fool; we need to restock at some points." Altair replied, dismounting his horse and heading for the home cabin. Ezio shook his head, following suit.

"How close are we to Kvatch?" "We should be arriving soon. There is a foul wind blowing, not one I'm very familiar with." Ezio inhaled, trying to sense whatever Altair was sensing. Whereas his eyes were now quite possibly the most powerful on Tamriel at this moment, thanks to a supernatural curse, his other senses were unfortunately nowhere near as well honed.

That being said, the air did indeed feel different. It was ominous. "I wonder who lives here." Ezio changed the topic, quickly. He didn't know exactly how Altair reacted to ominous winds, and didn't care to find out for some time. Altair stopped for a moment, looking around.

"The people who live here are dead." Altair responded, coldly. "We wouldn't be stopping, otherwise." "Dead?" Surprise was evident in Ezio's voice. "How do you know?" "Look around you," Altair gestured, Ezio's eyes first following his arm to his finger, then to where he pointed, then gradually he looked around him. The crops were withering slightly, like they had not been tended to for a few days. "Untended crops, the door is not even locked," he kicked it lightly, causing it to swing open. "They were recently attacked by bandits." At that statement, Ezio's Eye activated, revealing much to him. There were bloodstains from the door to the forests. The bloodstains were fresh enough to be followed on foot, Ezio decided. "We'll need to investigate the home for a bit, find out if these bandits left a calling card…" Altair said. Had his Eye not activated? Perhaps it worked differently?

"That is unnecessary." Ezio said, following the bloodstains that apparently only he could see.

"What?"

"My Eye. I can see a trail of blood. We'll follow that to the source."

"Your talent makes this job much easier." Came the remark as Ezio started after the trail. Altair could be heard following closely behind him; but his focus was on what the his Eye showed him. They entered the forest, weaving through trees and bushes alike, until they came upon a small camp.

"There." he pointed. Altair gazed upon them, drawing his sword. Ezio did the same, gazing down at the bandits. They all glowed red, but among the red, he saw fading blue. Was it a captive? Was the captive dying? They needed to charge in. Ezio leapt up and ran forward, though he did not shout or yell.

He was now just outside the camp. The Eye had…deactivated, for lack of a better word. His blade was readied for combat. Altair would be close behind him, he was confident they could take on a few measly bandits. He leaped out of cover, charging at the bandits. He brought his weapon down on the first enemy he saw; an orc wielding a heavy battleaxe. His blade connected, and the orc cried out in pain as his shoulder had been cleaved in two.

Ezio yanked the weapon out, though it took some effort. He stumbled backwards a bit, before getting caught by a mace in the arm. He was pushed backwards, and he cried out in pain as the attacker, a Khajiit, readied to bring down the mace for a finishing blow. Instinct screamed for Ezio to leap to the left or right, but his mind drifted back to when his father was teaching him how to fight.

He bent his knees, collapsing before the mace could come down. The opponent lost his balance long enough for Ezio to draw the hidden blade and slam it into the Khajiit's sternum, sending him back while bleeding profusely. There was a third and fourth bandit, whom Ezio readied to fight. "Someone came to play hero for these poor saps." Ezio spun to see a more heavily-armored bandit.

"Who are you?" Ezio demanded.

"Someone who is exacting their vengeance."

"Vengeance?"

"You're in the way, priest. You've wounded my men, so we'll wound you."

Ezio spun in time to see the third bandit, a Redguard, slash at him with his scimitar. Ezio managed to block the blow with the steel of the bracer, however the force of the blow, while not taking off the limb, sent Ezio to the ground. His back collided with the ground, hard, and he let out a cry of pain.

The Redguard slammed his foot onto Ezio's chest, holding him down. The fourth bandit, another orc, helped the other orc stand up, as they all stood above his disabled form. The leader knelt over him, drawing a knife. "I'm going to skin you, whelp." Ezio spat in the bandit's face. "Damn!" he brought the knife down against his captive, slicing his lip open. Blood poured freely from the wound, however by the time he began to skin his face, a knife flew through his head.

The bandits all fell back a few steps in shock. Seizing his opportunity, Ezio shoved the bandit leader back a bit, grabbing his knife, and faced the other three that now stood against him. "Who else wants some?" His yelling must have been horrific while accompanied by his bloody face and his insinuating that the knife was his doing. "You?" he pointed it at the injured orc, who shrank from his presence. "You?" The healthy orc now backed away from the knife. "Or maybe you?" The Redguard scanned the area, looking for any backup this mysterious foe must have had.

Before any action could be taken, the Master Assassin had already made his way up into the trees, and was above the three enemies. He drew both of his hidden blades, and leaped down towards his targets, landing on both healthy opponents blade first. With a minimal blood, both Redguard and orc were felled, leaving the last opponent to cry in terror.

"You have committed crimes against Cyrodiil. The crimes of robbery, murder, and disruption of an Imperial mission, leave only one punishment available to scum like you." Altair's commanding tone filled the air. The orc turned to run, but Ezio launched the leader's dagger at him, catching him behind the knee, the weapon piercing the joint entirely. The orc's scream filled the air as Altair drew his sword across his neck.

"Rest in peace." he said, executing the final bandit. The atmosphere was so silent as to be deadly for a few moments, until Ezio covered his wound with some of the bandit's cloth. "You really are a fool."

"There were only four."

"They could have had hidden back-up. There were so many unknown variables to that situation that what you did was suicide." He gazed straight at Ezio. "Your Eye won't save you from everything. Especially when you only know basic combat, have no sense of tactics, and refuse to listen to those that know better and do." He looked toward the camp. "You were lucky to have someone like me on the field at this point. Someone who can adapt. The reason I didn't immediately enter combat was because while you were swinging a sword like a madman and getting beaten down, I saved the hostage and scouted the area. Otherwise this battle would not have been anywhere near as successful."

He took a breath as Ezio sat on a log. "Why am I even here?"

"You are here to learn. Unfortunately, I am no sort of teacher, however you will need to learn to be patient. Let that scar be a good lesson for you." Altair sat across from Ezio. "Tactics are the difference between getting slaughtered against countless enemies, or slaughtering countless enemies. Scout the area to see where the enemies patrol, then set up ambushes. I had to find a position where I could launch an initial attack and change my position quickly. Not only that, but I needed to know exactly how many enemies there were in the vicinity, and cover any possible escape routes and areas where reinforcements can arrive." He was pointing fingers out as he listed the different things he was talking about. "It was then I found the hostage, and proceeded to evacuate him while you were distracting the rest of the bandits. That, I thank you for."

"How can this apply to anywhere else, though?"

"You have an incredible power, Auditore. That Eye is something no one else has that I know of, however that power is useless unless you know how to apply it." he sighed. "That is something you need to learn on your own. No one else can teach you how your power works. However, you need to learn the basics of scouting an area. We'll practice when we get to Kvatch." he stood up, looking around the bandit camp. "Scavenge the area for food and supplies. We have at least another day's travel before we reach Kvatch."

Ezio nodded, and began to search the belongings of the chief bandit. He had fifty septims, gold pieces used as currency throughout Tamriel. There was also a map, listing out their various activities, and a ledger was attached to it. On the ledger it had several names of people and places, and numbers beside them. Perhaps that was the amount of septims that they had acquired from these people? He hid them within his coat, to be presented to the next authority he had come into contact with.

He exited the tent, and found that Altair had already acquired a large sack filled with food. "Find anything worth anything?"

"Just fifty or so septims."

"Pfft, 'just'." Ezio ignored the snide remark as they made their way back to the farm and their horses. There stood a man, tending to the horses with food and water. "Thank you, sir, for helping us on our way."

"Thank you, Father." the man bowed. "You and your disciple have saved me from a devastating fate. My family, though…"

"I apologize for us not arriving sooner." Ezio took out the pouch containing the septims.

"There's no way anyone could have known, Father. I will go into mourning…see what I can do about repairing the farm…"

"Please, sir." Ezio interjected. "This is something we do not need." He pulled the bag of septims out of his coat. "Please, take this with the blessing of Arkay; may the souls of your family find home in his arms." He handed the man the pouch and turned to mount his horse.

"Thank you, sirs. I will never forget you!" Altair and Ezio rode off, keeping to the road towards Kvatch. Ezio was nervous; he still had no clue what to expect, and his Eye was slowly helping him less and less. He couldn't depend solely upon Altair, however he knew that until he learned how to strategize with his environment, and how to fight more effectively, he would need to.

It was then that Ezio began to wonder something. He pulled out the ledger and looked at the names listed. At the bottom, which he assumed was the latest heist, he saw a name that couldn't have been that of a person. It was more akin to the name of an organization. "Something wrong?" Altair asked, looking behind him.

"Do you know what the Imperiatus is?"

"A group of hunters that believe themselves a sort of authority on the sport. They worship the Daedric Prince Hircine." Altair replied. "Why?"

"I found this ledger off of the chief bandit." Altair sighed. "It is filled with names of people and places. I was expecting to see the name of the farmer, or at least the name of the farm at the bottom, or somewhere near it."

"Best not to worry about it for now. When we get to Kvatch we can get the ledger to the Denmaster there. He'll find out what's going on." Altair assured. "Our mission must come first, no matter what, however."

"Right." It was more than apparent that he had much to learn, however he had a teacher who had mastered the art. He would eventually return to Skingrad, but he knew that people like that farmer were all over Cyrodiil. It was a rush, receiving gratitude for something he had actively done, even if he couldn't claim all the credit for himself. Mysteries swirled around this whole event, though: why would those bandits go after a whole organization? Who was that farmer they saved, really?

He needed to know what was going on. Who that farmer was, who those bandits were, what vengeance he was exacting. As long as he hung around these Assassins, he would get closer to the answer, however he had a dark feeling that however close he got to the answer of this ledger, he would be closer to being stuck in the trade.


	9. Kvatch Pt1: The Gates of Hell

Normally I would not be updating so quickly, however I have decided that due to my lack of activity in the past few months, I should try to catch up. I don't know when next I'll be on, but I will forge ahead to continue this saga.

Please, enjoy the latest chapter: "Operation Kvatch, Part 1: The Gates of Hell"!

* * *

Ezio gazed up at the sky, shock and disbelief filling his mind. Nothing could have prepared him for seeing this-the sky burned red, and the clouds were black. They all seemed to swirl around the city of Kvatch, which was burning. He looked down at Altair, who had stopped momentarily.

"Don't get excited." he muttered. "Keep a cool head, no matter what happens. We need to figure out what is going on before we charge in blades out."

"Right." came Ezio's reply. He took a deep breath, however it had not slowed his heartbeat in the slightest. It pounded in his chest, threatening to burst out with all the stress he was feeling right now. He did his best to keep a calm face, even though he was now before what looked to be the most dangerous thing in Tamriel at the moment.

They progressed towards Kvatch. His eyes now on the ground, he noticed the agriculture was suffering as well. It was as though a gate to Hell had been opened up right in the middle of Kvatch, based upon how the very dirt withered and cracked. The dirt, which could already have seemed lifeless, was dying! Whatever this power was, it brought terror to young Ezio's heart like nothing else. Was this what Master Assassins dealt with on a daily basis?

Kvatch was one of the nine major cities in Tamriel. It rested upon a mountain, but at the base of the mountain looked to be a camp of sorts. People were running from Kvatch, it seemed. Altair rode into the camp, with his shadow close behind him. A man ran up to him, clearly terrified about the situation. "Run! Run away!" he yelled, stopping before Altair's horse. "Kvatch is no place for a priest right now! Save yourselves!"

"What is going on, here?" Altair asked, looking the man in the eye. Ezio scanned the camp, looking for anywhere enemies could possibly arrive from. The only place he noticed possible was the mountain itself, lest some random animal were to attack from behind. Everything seemed to be stemming from Kvatch itself.

"Monsters have invaded! They…they destroyed the whole town!" That looked somewhat evident. Even from the distance along the Gold Road, the flames of Kvatch could be seen. However, he wondered what sort of monsters could have invaded the second largest city in Cyrodiil.

"Do you know if anyone else has gone towards Kvatch?" the man looked confused. He must have recently escaped the destruction, himself. "Nevermind. Thank you, but we've been sent by the Temple of the One to see about Kvatch's distress. Do not worry for us, we're trained."

"But…I…"

"I just need you to give me some information. What is the nature of these 'monsters'? Are you sure they are not mere bandits?"

"Bandits! Bandits, he says! I wish they were bandits!" his exasperated tone cracked. No, bandits couldn't have done this amount of damage…he gazed around at the refugees, survivors. He saw the injured; they were not just bleeding, some looked torn up. No blade Ezio's seen could do something like what he was seeing. No mere bandit raid would light the sky aflame, nor would it cause an entire city to quake in fear.

"Altair, you see what you can learn from this man and the people over there," Ezio said, dismounting his horse. "I will learn what I can from the people who've been injured."

"Now you're understanding reconnaissance." With Altair's approval, Ezio left the man and Altair behind. He was somewhat relieved; he had an expert's approval for his own actions, and he could deal with the reprieve of the Master's constant gaze over his shoulder. There were several tents of people, however he decided to go to the tent that also had a physician dealing with the patient.

"Hello, I am a monk from the Temple of the One. I was sent to see what was wrong." He explained. The physician was torn between answering his questions and throwing him out, however the patient wanted him to remain.

"Please, brother…" His pain was evident. His wounds were akin to those of a barbed blade, but who would use a barbed blade? While tearing damage was always ideal for pain, it wasn't that great for when you got the blade caught in an opponent's carcass. His limbs were limp, and the gash spread across his chest. The physician had been bandaging it and casting healing spells upon it, but it was not an easy wound to heal, it seemed.

"Yes?"

"Don't…go to…Kvatch…" the physician sighed.

"Ma'am, could you tell me so we do not stress the patient?" Ezio asked the physician, who exited the tent for a moment.

"What happened up there was horrific. I'll tell you what happened, but I'll also tell you that you are insane to take up arms against the siege."

"Siege?"

"The sky is burning for a reason. A gate has opened before Kvatch, one to a place many a mortal hopes to never go."

"Where?"

"Oblivion has opened." Ezio's eyes shot open. Back to his viewing the death of Emperor Uriel Septim VII. Close shut the jaws of Oblivion, he said. "A horrific thought, indeed. It was all we could do to evacuate everyone we had. However, there are people still in Kvatch, and the guards can't help them. The gate to Oblivion now blocks any entry into the city."

"Is there any way to shut this gate?"

"Shut it? We have to run away from it!"

"Thank you for your time, ma'am. Tend to your patients; I will do what must be done to save this town." He had to admit, he felt some surge of pride in saying that. Like one of the heroes he'd always read about. Ready to ride forth and slay the dragon for the maiden in trouble. Save for there was no maiden that he knew of. If he didn't take care, Altair might mistake his bravado for recklessness.

He walked over to another tent, this one had two guards and an injured man in the center. "…if we attack now, we're dooming the men already defending against the hellspawn."

"Hellspawn is something I find myself an expert in." Ezio announced, letting his superhero sensation fill him with pride. "I am a monk of the Temple of the One, here to examine the distress that Kvatch has expressed. What is the plan?"

"A priest fancies himself a warrior?" jested one guard.

"Hush now, private." said the man in the middle. "You seem to be somewhat knowledgeable of the situation. There is a gate to Hell sitting on top of the mountain. We've lost more than half of the town to the creatures from that gate, and we're doing all we can to keep them from leaving the summit now."

"I was told that there are survivors in the city. My ally and I are here to save them."

"That's suicide, priest." said the jesting guard. "You can't get past the gate, let alone into the city."

"We've faced more impossible odds before." Ezio replied with feigned certainty. "We have allies in the city, as well. We are intending to rendezvous with them inside."

"All we can hope for at the moment is to set up a good defense around the perimeter, prevent those things from getting out." the injured man said. "Until we can do that, I am afraid I am going to have to hold back all men from a raid on the gate itself."

"Understood." came the reply. He looked at the map sitting before the men. On it was a map of the whole city, with a red circle around the gate.

"This," he said, pointing at the red circle, "is the perimeter of the gate."

"Alright. It looks like you could easily bottleneck them here." he pointed at the route leading down the mountain.

"The biggest problem with that idea is that we would then be fighting an uphill battle." said the man. "They would be able to easily push us down the mountain." Ezio bit his lip as he sat before the map, gazing at it. He hoped his Eye would activate, maybe show him what needed to be done and explain what he needed to do.

"Perhaps we could set up a defense around here…" he muttered, tracing along the perimeter. "We could place troops here, here, and here, to defend from being shoved down the mountain."

"That was what this man suggested a few minutes ago." said the man. "Problem being we do not have enough troops for such a suggestion."

"There is an alternative." said Altair, entering the tent. "I am a priest from the Temple of the One. I've been listening in. Based on information gathered, enemies will only enter from one area. We need to lead a charge to break their current position and drive them back to the gate, where we can then set up sniper posts and kill them as they exit the gate." Altair said, pointing out various locations. "My brother and I shall lead the charge. I took the liberty of counting your troops, and have decided we only need two men to follow us to aid with the charge. There are still five men alive on that summit. We need to extract them for medical attention as well, while we set up a base of operations up there."

"Take these two. They can help more than any of us." said the man.

"But captain!"

"Go, Johnson. Fulfill your duty alongside these priests." The man paused for a minute, staring at his captain for a long period of time.

"…yes sir…" he uttered, finally, as he and his friend turned to leave the tent. Ezio and Altair turned to exit as well. Once they mounted their horses, they left for the mountain. The soldiers met them near the start of the path up the mountain.

"Father, brother." the man known as Johnson said.

"Johnson. Knight." Altair replied. "You heard the plan earlier. We will lead the charge in; you and your partner shall give cover fire."

"Roger that."

"We're running into a war zone, Auditore. Keep your head about you. Don't be reckless like with those bandits-I won't be able to save you this time." he said. "They are nightmarish. Do not be alarmed by them; they will take that chance to kill you."

"Alright." Ezio's heart was, at this point, slamming against the inside of his chest. He inhaled deeply, and exhaled. His blade was at his hip, as well as a dagger. He had no means of ranged attack at this point, so he would need to be prepared to parry a lot of attacks. He remembered back to the images of the people in tents. They used jagged weapons, barbed weapons. If properly played, he could easily cause his enemies to be their own enemies.

Ezio and Altair dismounted their horses some way up the mountain. The young Assassin placed the ledger in the horse's satchel, so as to not lose it. They began their trek up the mountain. It was a daunting thought; a game of endurance, strength, and skill. None of which Ezio was especially well-trained in, all of which had the cost of his life should he not succeed.

After what seemed like an hour, Altair finally made a different motion than his static forward walking. He hid behind a rock, and Ezio followed closely. "Enemies readying to charge down the mountain…" Altair whispered, pointing so Ezio could get a good look. At a glance, he saw what he could literally describe as nightmarish.

His mind leaped back to his memories of Olav's Tap n' Tack. His dream, of these monsters. How they killed him. How Altair saved him. What was going on? How had he dreamt of them before even seeing them? "Steel yourself. This will be a tough battle." Ezio nodded at Altair's remark, which was followed up by Altair shimmying across the rock.

At a glance Ezio saw his plan. He was going to attack from behind the monster, shaped like a man but it must have been at least a foot taller than even an orc. He wore black and red-spiked armor, and stared forward, as though awaiting reinforcements. He looked down the road, trying to see if any reinforcements would arrive. His eyes fell upon Altair, who had his hidden blade drawn and was approaching fast behind the monster. He grabbed its shoulder, and in one motion stabbed it, and lowered it to the ground. He motioned for Ezio to come closer.

It was then Ezio drew his hidden blade, and stabbed down instinctively into the creature's temples. Altair shot him a questioning glance, but saw the creature's attempt to stand fail. "Good catch. These things need more to kill than a simple blade to the heart, it seems." They stood, and began walking towards the summit once more.

"Are you ready for this, Altair?"

"No." At least he was being honest. It was hard to tell, though; based just on the look on his face, it seemed as though he was ready to take on the entire army of hell if need be when they reached the top. Confident that he would even win, too. The sky looked no less menacing than it did before, now the color of deep crimson and swirling with black clouds. Was this what Oblivion did to Tamriel? He could see why the emperor wanted it locked away.

But how was one kid, one young Ezio Auditore, going to stop something like this? He shuddered at the idea of all the responsibility placed upon him by the emperor. And he'd accepted the responsibility. He swore on his name he would do what needed to be done to save the world. He wanted to slap himself for his stupidity.

Sounds of the battle could be heard as they made their final approach. Screams of agony and monstrous roars painted the portrait of fear within Ezio, as blood painted the dead, blackened dirt beneath his feet. There were corpses around the entire field, he observed as Altair had led him to a lookout point.

The two soldiers had soon arrived, after which Altair turned to face the group. "Here's the plan," Altair said, looking around at the band of warriors before him…and Ezio. "You two will remain up here and provide ranged support for us." he pointed at the two guards. "Brother, it is time for your first real test in battle, against unimaginable enemies. Let's hope your special talent comes in handy; if not, you could well be ripped into pieces."

Ezio took a deep breath. "Hey, monk." Johnson's voice surprised the boy, who nearly leaped out of cover by mistake. "We've got your back. Don't be scared." He nodded, and Ezio exhaled. He had to do this.

"Surely we aren't just charging in blindly?" he asked, turning to Altair.

"Of course not. We are not only killing enemies, we are driving them towards the gate. That means we can get definite cover, and keep from being surrounded by enemies. We also have allies out on the field already; once we get to them the battle should be even easier." Good old Altair, explaining a war with hell out into a feasible situation. The Assassins drew their blades. "You'll be fine."

"You're saying that." Ezio remarked, and they both slipped from cover. Altair pulled out a small orb and tossed it out into the mesh of enemies. There was a loud sound, followed by an explosion of flames, and the enemies scattered somewhat. Ezio picked targets and decided to take this battle one enemy at a time.

This enemy was still stunned from the explosion of Altair's. Ezio was still trying to figure out what exactly happened; he didn't remember any explosion magics like that one. Ezio kicked the enemy, sending it from its knees to belly-up on the ground. Not willing to risk anything, he slammed his boot on the enemy's breastplate, and stabbed the enemy's throat with his blade.

It was a near decapitation, as Ezio pulled the blade to the side, rather than pulling upwards to dislodge the sword. Two more enemies had taken notice of the boy, all looking near-identical to the fallen monster behind him. Before any move could be made, an arrow had hit its mark in the monster's head. It toppled as the other began to roar and charge. By the nine, did it charge. Ezio was dumbfounded on how he any mortal could stand the sight of such a creature and remain sane.

As it held its blade in a position to bring it down hard upon the young Assassin, he decided getting hit by a great sword from any species was a bad idea. He lunged forth with his sword into the opening created by the monster, then pulled the blade up as hard as he could. The enemy screamed in pain as his weapon was caught in its incredible armor, and he ended up giving it a piggy-back ride instead of fighting it.

He eventually heaved it over his back, tossing it on the ground a few feet away. He took a breath and backed up a few paces, before he saw an arrow flying at him. He moved to the left, just in time to see it meet its target-a monster that had snuck up behind him. He punched the arrow once it was lodged firmly in the enemy's throat, just to ensure as much damage as possible. The thick gloves from Bruma provided enough padding to protect his fist from the impact.

Another explosion occurred, and Ezio soon realized that while he was struggling with a few enemies, Altair was a harbinger of destruction, slaughtering a path through the enemy hordes. On the ground there were not several dozen corpses laying about, with sword wounds mainly, others it was not even visible how they were killed. What kind of man was capable of this kind of warfare, a kind where you became a one-man army?

He snapped out of thought long enough to realize he had a duty as well, and he ran forth to catch up to Altair. He was wishing at this point that he had some form of ranged weaponry, for his current state was more liable to be killed quickly in the field of battle, without the absolute support of Johnson and the other guard sniping for him.

The real battlefield came into view, at last; Ezio could see many enemies, some looking like commanders, swarming the battlefield, and even more enemies pouring out of what Ezio had thought was possibly the most hellish thing he had ever seen. The gate to Oblivion. The gates of hell. The arch was made of brimstone, with what looked like blood streaming down its craggy, colossal surface. In the arches looked like nothing short of a wall of flame, speaking omens of death and destruction to any who came near.

It was then that Ezio's mind drifted back to his dream once more. This was it! This was the battlefield his dream had depicted, where he was struck down and Altair saved him. He felt his gut, hoping sincerely that this would not be the same event. He saw Altair, almost literally cleaving through enemies with their own weapons, followed closely by two other soldiers.

In the middle of the mob, there were three more soldiers, back to back, shields out. They were trying to survive the waves of hell, while Altair's party was making the waves of hell try to survive. It was like watching a bloody painting get splashed with even more, as the Master Assassin continually proved himself to be even more of a demon than the creatures coming from the Oblivion gate.

Another explosion broke up the mob of enemies. Altair was driving them back, alright. Ezio then took a breath and drew his hidden blade. He would have to be covert about this battle; he was not prepared to fight as Altair, and he was a solitary unit with some support fire. One monster was getting up from the explosion-target number one for the Auditore boy.

Crouched down, he came up to the creature, of which had wide eyes at Ezio. It was quickly dispatched by the boy, who had placed the hidden blade solidly in its cranium. He dropped the corpse, and searched for another target. There was a group of three enemies which had recovered and were preparing to leap back at Altair. Ezio made a motion for archers to be ready, praying to the Nine that they saw it, and snuck up behind the creature in back.

He placed his right hand around the creature's mouth, pulling it back and thrusting his hidden blade into what was assumed to be the creature's heart and pulling backward to not alert the other two. It worked, however the archers had responded to Ezio's signal, and both of his enemies met their untimely end with arrows through their throats.

Ezio took a deep breath, and continued looking for isolated groups of enemies that he and his cell of archers could easily take down. Altair's group was taking on the bulk of the horde, but Ezio wanted to at least know he had some hand in the victory. He was surprised when two soldiers ran up to him.

"You are the monk from the Temple of the One, I take it?" said one, panting. The battle was more than exhausting, to say the least. The young Assassin nodded, knowing it was a lie, but also a ruse for Assassins in specific, so he wasn't the only liar. "We're going to set up barricades. Keep them off our backs!"

Ezio motioned his hand as though he was calling the archers over. Before long they had taken up new positions while he continued searching the field for isolated groups of enemies. He marked enemies for the archers to snipe, while continually looking back to make sure the barricades were being set up alright.

What was once a swarm of enemies was now pools of blood and piles of carcasses. The soldiers made their barricade partly out of rock, partly of wood, and partly of these bodies from the field. It was a disgusting thought, but a disgusting battle all the same. Altair approached the barricade, and though he would not show it, he was incredibly exhausted. Who wouldn't be after defeating an army nearly single-handedly?

"Archers," he said, "focus on the gate. We will return to the base camp and report the events to your commanding officer, and requisition reinforcements. Stay strong, the battle is not yet over."

"…far from it." Muttered Ezio as they began their descent to the refugee's camp. What he had seen was hell. But he had a demon following him closely behind, one that destroyed the bulk of their forces. His dreams were fast becoming reality; was this an effect of the Eye? Or something more sinister?

They approached the tent. Altair's legs were shaky at this point, and his blood-soaked form looked hardly capable of standing anymore. "Are you sure that you can handle this?" Ezio's question came, like an arrow through silence. Altair simply stood there, gazing at the tent. Was it a silent "No", or was it a pause for thought?

Ezio decided to act on instinct, walking into the tent. He saw the captain sitting next to a more decorated-looking officer. "Sir," said the young man, averting his eyes to the man before the map. "The charge was successful. We broke their lines, and now have them trapped at their own gate."

"That's…" The captain sat up, surprised by the news. Did he really send the Assassins up, thinking they would die? "…incredible news! I was actually preparing further backup for you now."

"Backup would still be appreciated. There are seven soldiers up at the gate, all behind a barricade. Alt-" He stopped. No one was on a first-name basis, and given this news about the captain, it was not the best idea, he thought, to start spreading names now. "Although we are tired, my friend and I. We will need at least a day's rest before we begin any assault on the gate."

"That's excellent news, brother." said the decorated officer. "We are not planning any direct assault upon the gate yet. We need to formulate strategies at this point, now that we can contain them. I'm sending requisition orders out for arms. Arrows, swords, bows, shields, armor. We'll need a small army to tackle whatever is in that thing."

"No." Altair walked into the tent, still obviously exhausted. "My ally and I will mount an assault on the gate tomorrow. We might bring reinforcements, but I believe that there are some already there."

"Johnson and his partner made excellent archer units," Ezio suggested, "I would like to take them."

"It's a suicide mission, but you at the Temple of the One have more authority than I do. I would stop you, if I didn't know you two didn't just lead a suicidal assault against countless odds, and won." the captain sighed. "Prepare well. We'll give you everything you need."

"A bow and arrows." Ezio said. "I need ranged weapons as well."

"A tent to sleep in for the night. I'll be ready to fight again in the morning."

"Both can easily be provided. Brother, go speak with the quartermaster I've brought with me. He'll get you what you need."

"Thank you." Ezio bowed, and exited the tent. Altair exited soon after, and they went their separate ways. The quartermaster had a tent of his own, and had already set up a grindstone and an anvil, for repairing armor.

"I am a monk from the Temple of the One," the young Assassin said as he approached the quartermaster. He was shirtless, but had very well-toned muscles. Something that was probably necessary against the heat of the forge all day. "I was sent to talk about getting a bow, quiver, and some arrows."

"What's a monk wanting with weapons like those?"

"I need ranged weapons to protect myself tomorrow when my partner and I storm the hell gate." the quartermaster raised an eyebrow.

"You and your partner…"

"The same two who broke enemy lines and set up an actual perimeter on the summit, yes." the quartermaster sighed.

"Alright, I have a few bows over here. Made of steel, if you can handle it. Steel-tipped arrows, too." Ezio nodded. "Do you even know how to use one of these, monk?"

"I know a little. Never got much practice, but I learned the basics."

"Alright. Make sure you protect yourself. I'd be pretty embarrassed to know you died using my equipment."

"Thank you for the concern." Ezio strapped the bow over his shoulder, putting the quiver on as well. "I will be fine." He exited the quartermaster's tent, looking over to Altair, who had finished setting up a tent. Not being an expert, Ezio payed little attention to the quality and make of the weapon, he just had to trust the quartermaster and hope his few days of hunting with Giovanni and Federico would be enough.

"Tomorrow we journey into hell, Auditore." Altair said, laying down in the tent. "Be ready."

Be ready. Ezio had not been ready for the entire damned adventure. At this point he was just winging the entire thing, hoping Altair could continue saving his life. He lay down, placing all of his weapons beside him. He closed his eyes, and could only dream of the life he led in Skingrad. Of his nice life, his comfortable life. On the more innocent side of life.


	10. Kvatch Pt2: Son of None

Newest update of Darker Side, hope you all enjoy!  
Altair finds himself without Ezio in the hellish land of Oblivion.

* * *

The Land of Oblivion, Kvatch Pt. 2

When Ezio had awaken, he did not feel refreshed, as a night's sleep was supposed to bring. The darkened sky brought only restlessness and anger to all beneath, blackening their mood as it blackened the sky. His very breath seemed to have had death upon it, and his dreams of Skingrad had quickly become something more sinister.

He dreamed, again, of only death. If Altair had felt any of the same effects, he didn't show them, as usual. He hoped the man had gotten more rest than he; otherwise this upcoming battle was going to be a difficult one. He went over memories of Altair slaughtering countless enemies in order to gain a foothold against the Oblivion gate.

"Let's go." Altair said, stepping out of the tent. Ezio followed after, grabbing all of his equipment. A sword and bow were the most prominent of the weapons he had on his person, his combat knife not really seeming like much of an option to use against foes like the demons they had seen yesterday.

They soon stood at the base of the mountain. Ezio looked at the dead path before them, noting how desolate it looked. It didn't look this way when his family had visited Kvatch a few years back; it was enough to bring a tear to the eye when a comparison was made. Alongside the pure horror of what was happening, Ezio could understand a great sense of sadness: the entire city was being transformed, just like this.

"It's time to take Kvatch back." he said, looking to Altair, who nodded.

"This will be much more easily said than done, Auditore." He folded his arms, turning around to face the refugee camp. "In fact, it may just be impossible."

"What you did yesterday was impossible, Altair. You must have slaughtered a thousand enemies." Altair shook his head.

"This is different. We're diving straight into the gate, and we're going to find a way to seal it." Ezio's eyes widened. "Reports from scouts indicate there is no way around the gate. We need to go through."

"We're going into Oblivion, and trying to destroy it? It's different there, the enemies never die!"

"Hence my saying this could be an impossible task. Adding to difficulty, we are searching for a Master Assassin who may or may not even be there. Master Niccolo Machiavelli."

"So…we're going on a suicide mission?" Altair nodded, and Ezio gulped. "I…"

"Hesitation makes you weak. Steel yourself, Auditore." Soldiers began to arrive, and they started their trek up the mountain. "I know not where this ends, but even if death is the result, die knowing you did your best."

"I can't…!"

"You must." Ezio's heart beat fast, threatening to shatter his entire chest from within. The Oblivion gate came into view, as well as the soldier encampment before the gate itself. As demons came out, they were quickly put down by well placed arrows from various directions. They came upon the field commander, who looked away from his soldiers for a moment.

"Father, Brother, you've made it." his voice sounded of exhaustion and relief. "We've been holding them back all night, waiting for you."

"I apologize." Altair waved a hand. "You may well be doing this for the rest of your life, however." The commander's face turned white at the suggestion.

"Yes sir." He said. He was a disciplined soldier, anyone could tell. "What are your plans?"

"My disciple and I are going to charge straight in with no back-up."

"That's suicide." the commander looked adamant, and Ezio found himself secretly wanting Altair to see some reason behind the captain's words, and back down. He knew that would never happen, of course.

"That's the only way." came the reply, and Altair looked toward the gate. "I know not what will be on the other side of the gate, Auditore."

"Probably more of those demons." Ezio sighed. "If we're going to die, let's get this over with." The Assassins drew their swords, and Ezio gazed upon the gate. It looked no less menacing than it had the day before; in fact, it looked even more so than ever before. The air around it was filled with malevolence, and seemed to drip with blood.

Altair and Ezio approached the gate. Even Altair was apprehensive about this event, it seemed. The flames seemed to stare them both down, as if Oblivion itself was screaming for them to not even bother trying to enter. A demon stepped out from behind the flames, and Altair threw a knife toward its throat, following up with a finishing blow quickly.

"We can stand here all day," Altair said, "or we can go in."

"Then I say let's go!" Ezio's confidence was very fake. His voice was shaky enough to cause any seasoned warrior to laugh. But it was confidence, Altair noted. It was better than trying to run way. Both Assassins charged through the flame, Ezio halfway expecting to be incinerated by the event. His eyes slammed shut as they went through, and he refused to open them for a few moments. Judging by the following silence, Altair was just as frozen in the shock of running through a gate to hell. Willingly.

Then Ezio opened his eyes. All around him, he could see fire and brimstone. The atmosphere was decorated with fear and anger, while the tone of the realm was set with torture and violence. There were no demons in the immediate vicinity, but Ezio did feel a little off. He breathed in pure malevolence, it felt like, coughing and spitting immediately after. Altair tapped his shoulder.

"Are you o…kay…" he muttered, before falling to his knees. He used his sword as support, pushing himself back into a standing position. "Gah! This…dimension…realm…it's…"

"Oblivion…is…Eden…" Ezio muttered, wanting to scream and run out the gate. He shot an eye back at the gate. It was still there, and it was so tempting. Then he realized Altair was glowing blue. His Eye had activated without him realizing it. It was the fact that they were cursed that they couldn't be here.

That was perfectly fine with Ezio, on many other occasions. If they didn't have to be here, he didn't mind being banned from a dimension of fire and brimstone, filled with fear and hatred. Altair had been cursed as well, which was why he was suffering the effects of the dimension as well.

"We need…backup…" Ezio gasped. "Someone…not cursed!"

"Too…late…" Altair wheezed, "We…can't…go back…"

"I understand…suicide mission…but…I…can't…believe…we're dead…this soon in!" It was then that demons appeared. Perfect, Altair was in no position to stand, let alone fight that monster off. It stood over Ezio, raising its sword.

"O Cursed One," it said, with a voice that could have been mistaken for a sinister choir, so dark and melodious that it gave Ezio cause to tremble. "Thou hast traveled to where thou hast not been allowed." His heart beat fast as the creature prepared to lower its blade upon him.

Desperation is a wonderful thing, in man and mer. Something that causes the release of adrenaline, a chemical which increases reaction speed, strength; a last-ditch attempt to preserve a creature's life. Maybe, Ezio pondered, it would be enough to power past a curse. He pushed his foot down, bringing him up to the demon. He launched the hidden blade as the creature brought its sword down, his perception of time speeding to the point that it seemed as though the creature hadn't budged an inch.

He pushed the hidden blade into the creature's throat, drawing a black, bloody substance from the monster. It dropped the blade, clutching its throat in an attempt to stop the flow of the substance. In a subconscious blur, Ezio grabbed the demonic blade, lopping the creature in half in a single, effortless swipe. His perception of time returned to normal, and he noticed how fast his heart was beating. He broke out into a coughing fit as he fell to his knees, his face soon greeting the ground. His body had all but stopped moving entirely. He used everything in that one attack; on that one enemy.

His consciousness faded as he felt a rough hand grab him by the neck. He didn't know, or particularly care, at that point. The adrenaline had left a sense of numbness in Ezio, and so long as he retained that sense of numbness, he could die painlessly and peacefully.

He awoke in a cage. His mind was hardly registering anything he looked at; it was as though he had been drugged. Perhaps these creatures had, or perhaps he was groggy. Maybe none of this happened at all, and he heaved a sigh as he leaned against the cage. Where was Altair, the question was begged. Perhaps he had been captured, too…

Little known to Ezio, Altair had recently awoken near the gate. His body was now more used to the realm of Oblivion. Maybe needing to adapt to Oblivion was common, but it had more of an effect on the Assassins because of the curse? Ezio must have been waking around now, too, he decided, and stood to his feet.

The first thing he noticed was that Ezio was gone. The second thing he noticed was that his Eye had activated. It was no secret between the two that their Eyes worked a bit differently: while they both seemed to have the power to distinguish friend and foe with them, Ezio seemed to have a limited amount of foresight, while Altair was able to see directly to his target.

In this instance, three things showed to him. A small, orb-like object, and two bodies. One deep within the castle, and one that looked as though it were on the outskirts of it. Altair then noted the existence of the castle, something he had understandably not seen before. The one along the path might have been Ezio. The boy was trying to prove himself, it was something that Altair understood.

As the youngest Master Assassin in Tamriel, a lot of pressure was on him. Especially after the chameleon incident, which had implicated him in almost every crime known to the order. In truth, he feared facing the Grandmaster again, although he knew he would need to soon. If he survived this ordeal, that was.

He wandered the realm, heading towards what he was assuming was Ezio. It hadn't moved for awhile, however it was in a sedentary position, not laying down. It wasn't unconscious. He looked over the rock, but was surprised at what he had actually found on the other side.

"Machiavelli?" the man looked over at the Master Assassin. "I thought you'd been captured."

"You took your time getting here, Altair." came the cold reply of the man. He was adorned similarly to Altair, his facial features hidden behind a mask, unlike Altair. "You're a fool for not wearing protection. It's no wonder you hadn't arrived sooner. Another Assassin was taken into that citadel earlier."

Altair sighed. He was the third Master Assassin of Cyrodiil, but Machiavelli was the second. However, whereas it took Machiavelli almost thirty years to finish his training to be a Master, it took Altair only fifteen. He did what Machiavelli had, in half the time. While trained to not let a grudge interrupt the mission, showing hostility was not unknown among the Master Assassins of Tamriel.

"That was my partner, we were sent here to extract you." Altair wasn't about to let Machiavelli feel more accomplished than he needed to. "We also won a war on the way in. The Kvatch refugee camp is safe now, and there is a military installation on the outside of the gate to protect the rest of Cyrodiil."

"It's a start, but not enough." Machiavelli's tone changed, from a competitive one to a grim one. "We're facing the entire army of Mehrunes Dagon. He's intending on breaking the barrier between Oblivion and Tamriel somehow. That's all I was able to torture out of a 'dremora', as they are called." Leave it to Machiavelli to force a demon to confess facts through torture.

"The Templars are probably a part of this plot." Altair added, pointing to his still-active eye. "They have cursed the Assassin you saw, as well as myself, with this Eye. There are several Templars who they claim are blessed with similar powers. They have something to do with this realm." Machiavelli frowned.

"You may be our only connection to what's going on…but sadly, you may also be an instrument of Mehrunes' will."

"That is the trade-off." affirmed Altair. "What is our plan for going inside this citadel? We are looking for that Assassin. We find him, then we follow…" he pointed at his eye, "…until we can find a way to seal the gates of Oblivion."

"You say that like it is a simple thing."

"It very well could be, you've been scouting for how long, now?" Machiavelli sighed.

"There are a dozen dremora on the other side of that gate. I suggest you take a sniper's position there, and I will take point."

"Got it."

"Remember, Altair: we both may have the title of Master, but I have seniority."

"Yes."

"Good."

Altair clambered his way, somewhat gracefully, to the spot Machiavelli had pointed out. It was a small perch, but it was supplied with a bow and quiver full of arrows. Machiavelli must have been planning to take the citadel on alone by picking them off slowly. Altair strung the arrows over his back, drawing one and aiming at Machiavelli.

He followed Machiavelli into the citadel, and aimed at the dremora which already reacted to his presence. He released the arrow, and it flew toward its target, striking it between the eyes, killing it instantly. Well, as much as one can kill a demon of hell, in hell. Not taking too much time thinking of it, he drew another arrow and aimed at another dremora.

They would notice Altair soon enough, but for now, he had his advantage of being out of the field of battle. He drew another arrow, aiming at a dremora that was attempting to follow Altair's suit. His arrow flew true, arcing towards the sniper's throat, killing it. It went limp and fell from its perch as the Assassin searched for his next target.

Between Machiavelli and Altair, the entirety of the gate guards had fallen. Machiavelli gave a sign of safety, and Altair lowered from his perch. He had half of his arrows left, but he grabbed arrows off of the corpses, careful to retrieve the projectile without damaging it too badly.

"I forget what good support you can be sometimes, Altair." Machiavelli said, looking towards the rest of the castle.

"This power of mine shows me exactly where the young Assassin, as well as the object we need to seal Oblivion, are." Altair explained, though Machiavelli was skeptical.

"We'll work parallel." He announced. "There are two entrances anyway. You take the path that could lead to the Assassin, since you seem to have a knowledge of him." Altair nodded.

"If you see any way of aiding my venture, do so, and I shall for you, Brother." They shook hands, before parting ways. Altair took a deep breath; would Ezio be alright?

Altair wandered into the entrance hall of the ominous castle. His heart was beating hard, though he showed no outward sign of this being the truth. He was trained to not show emotion to possible enemies; to show no weakness to exploit. That was the way of the Assassin, the way he had been trained in since birth.

His footsteps echoed off of the walls. There were no demons around, which brought questions to Altair's mind. Where were the monsters he'd fought yesterday? The armies of Hell were supposed to be limitless, but if the Master broke the entire force in one battle alone, perhaps this world was not as powerful as was expected.

But for all the legends and myths about the realm, it was too easy to break the entire army. Maybe the world was not a complete example of Oblivion? Either way, the silence was deafening, and eerie. The question kept repeating in Altair's mind: where was everyone? There had to be reserve forces, soldiers, anything to defend the castle in case the forces of Nirn made their way through.

Did they really waste all of their forces in that onslaught, and if so, were they expecting that to work? Or, a worse thought occurred to the Master Assassin, as he reached a window that overlooked the hellish landscape of Oblivion. Perhaps the bulk of their real forces were in Kvatch, a full-strength siege, and they would soon return.

He picked up his pace and continued toward what he was imagining was Ezio. If his hunch was correct, then they hadn't much time before they would be overwhelmed by enemies returning from Kvatch. The lack of enemies was worse, in most minds, than the idea of having a lot of demons everywhere. At least in combat, Altair had no hidden fear of dying; it was quite an open fear. Irrational fears are much worse to deal with than the rational ones.

Finally he was directly below Ezio's position. He couldn't hear anything. If there was no one here at all, why were there guardians at the gate? There had to be someone, something of importance, here. There had to be monsters that captured Ezio in the first place, and there had to be something formidable enough to keep Machiavelli in the realm for this long.

He then spied the orb-like object once more. He wouldn't even know it existed if not for his Eye, which was one of the most ironic things about this whole ordeal. His enemies armed him with knowledge and power to bring them down, it seemed.

Altair drew his sword as he approached the room with Ezio in it, up the staircases that filled the ominous looking castle. Then Ezio finally came into sight, struggling with the cage with three little demons poking at him. "Get away you little pieces of shit! Get!" he yelled, as Altair entered the room.

He dispatched the enemies quickly and easily enough, swiping his sword with enough strength to cleave through them pretty easily. These had to be the lesser demons of the realm. Perhaps dremora operated a bit differently than these creatures. "Here you are." Altair observed, leaping up to the cage. "Where is your gear?"

Ezio was wearing only his robes. The reason he didn't simply use the hidden blade to open the lock was because he didn't have his hidden blade. Or any blade, for that matter. The lock was shattered open with the force of Altair's attack, releasing Ezio easily. The young Assassin landed swiftly on the floor.

"They took my weapons through that door." he said. "After that, I do not know where they took them."

"We'll find your weapons, then." Altair said. "I found Machiavelli. This bridge makes it look like we can rendezvous with him in that tower." The same tower that the orb-like object must have been in. As they crossed the bridge, the Master took note of the lack of trauma in the young Auditore boy. Had he really managed that well under this kind of pressure?

Finally, they entered the tower, and enemies were finally in view. Altair drew his blade and countered a dremora's initial attack, sliding his blade nimbly along his foes until their hilts met, then yanking the weapon out of the demon's hand, leaving it open for a decapitating rebound strike.

The other two enemies charged, and Altair quickly analyzed the situation. Behind him was a huge drop, good for dispatching enemies with little effort. He sidestepped the charge of one, tripping it. Ezio barely dodged in time, but the dremora soon met the brimstone that composed the realm's ground. The last enemy was prepared for a stabbing attack, which Altair easily dodged and countered.

He elbowed down on the dremora's head once it was in range, sending its off-balance body to the ground, where the Master delivered the finishing blow, a boot coming down hard on the head.

Black blood covering his boot, he motioned for Ezio to follow him into the room. They entered a huge chamber, where the orb could be seen by all. "Altair, you're here." called the voice of Machiavelli. Altair turned to face the Master Assassin, who had recently entered the room as well. "I found the young Assassin on my way up. Your power must not be as strong as you believed it to be."

"Wait, you what?" Altair asked, before quickly spinning and seeing an attack from behind him. Ezio's right hook sent the man a few feet, though he landed into a roll and stood fast quickly. "You…"

"You really are a fool, Altair Son of None. To believe your Cursed Eye of Eden could see the truth in the land that created the power…and condemned it." The voice coming out of Ezio's body was not Ezio's. No, it was a far more terrifying sound, one that would make all but the fiercest of warriors cry in fear.

"Who are you?"

"Your bravado serves you in no way, Son of None." the voice reverberated off of Altair's very soul. "I am the Prince of Destruction."

"You," Machiavelli interjected, walking further into the room. The real Ezio, fully-armed, followed in. "Are Mehrunes Dagon?" the false Ezio burst into uproarious laughter.

"How many other Princes of Destruction are there, mortal?"

"That was more of a question of validity, than confusion." Machiavelli clarified, drawing his sword. "Nevertheless, you stand in our way."

"And in your way I shall continue to stand, mortal." A demonic sword materialized in the Avatar of Dagon's hand. "Until you have become generals of my army."

Altair drew his sword as well. "Machiavelli, Auditore, distract him while I head to the orb!" his command was obeyed, as he began his mad dash up the stairs. The Avatar of Dagon followed close behind, but was hindered when the real Ezio stabbed him through the heart. Or where the heart would have been, anyway.

"You really are a fool, Auditore of Skingrad." its voice followed even Altair as he continued his journey. "I am but an avatar. A voice, an echo, of the true Dagon. Your power cannot stand before me." with a movement, he shoved Ezio off of him. In the corner of Altair's eye, he saw Ezio fly a good distance, slamming hard against a wall.

Finally, Altair was just before the orb. He hadn't a clue what to do here, but he had the thought of simply removing the orb. He reached out for it, but the Avatar of Dagon had appeared before it. "You shall not do as you please in my realm."

"This isn't your whole realm. It's just a portion of it!" he said. "Your armies are said to be limitless, however I bested them all in one battle. This cannot be true, this cannot be all of Oblivion."

"You are right, Son of None. This is not the whole of Oblivion. I would never open up my realm for you mortals to wander about." Machiavelli had climbed up behind the orb. He saw what Altair was trying to do, and reached out for the orb. He screamed as it launched him away from it at his very touch.

"You fool." Dagon laughed through his avatar. "You cannot touch the orb, mortal." he grabbed Machiavelli by the neck, holding him up with inhuman strength. Altair took his chance, grabbing the orb. It tried to reject him, however it must have been his curse that allowed him to touch it. He referred to Machiavelli as only a mortal, however he referred to Altair in the English translation of his name, Ibn La'Ahad, "Son of None," and Ezio in the English of Auditore da Skingrad, "Auditore of Skingrad."

His hunch must have been right. The chamber began to disintegrate, and Dagon's avatar began to scream. "Son of None!" Altair began to look around for somewhere to escape. Something, anything, to bring him to safety. He would worry about Auditore and Machiavelli later. A light obscured his vision, however, and he felt pain surge through his body. Then, nothing.

Ezio awoke, looking around to see a clear blue sky. The ground beneath him was dead and blackened still, however the sky had returned to normal. There was a cheer that filled the atmosphere as the soldiers shouted. What happened? Disgruntled, Ezio looked at the gate to Kvatch, taking a moment to register that the Oblivion gate was gone.

Altair had taken on the realm of hell nearly on his own. On the inside was not nearly as difficult to survive as was initially believed by the boy, but unless Altair was there, Machiavelli may not have begun his attack early enough to save Ezio from his captors. The man was a bloody hero, whether he knew it or not. Perhaps he would be unconscious for a while, but that was fine.

The field commander ran up to Ezio. "You and your mentor did it. You broke the gate to Hell, somehow!" Ezio smiled.

"So now we retake the city?"

"Not yet. I want to have some eyes and ears in there before we begin the final attack." he explained, and Ezio nodded. He and the Master would need some rest after that encounter.

Claudia would never believe this. He'd met a Daedric Prince…and it referred to him by name. The omen of the event had yet to be fully realized by the child, who was just now getting drunk on victory. He would return to Skingrad, a hero beyond his years.

He drew a breath. Kvatch was almost retaken. Although he didn't get to use his bow and arrows in Oblivion, he'd be sure to use them in the upcoming battle. He looked at Altair, and towards some scouts readying to head into Kvatch. He decided to be proactive about this battle.


	11. Kvatch Pt3: Siege Breaker

Kvatch Part 3: The Church

When Altair awoke, it was not to the sight he was expecting. Being a man trained in the art of murder, he was unaccustomed to happy endings in some cases. The battle was not over, nor was this the last time they would ever see an Oblivion gate, but for today the battle had been won. He pushed himself to his feet, and looked around at the healed land and sky.

The sounds of people running around setting up a forward base filled the air. There were entire squads of soldiers going over plans, training with bows, practicing swordplay, and praying. He looked toward the gates of Kvatch, and pondered where Auditore could have gone, as he wasn't among the soldiers in the forward base.

"Father, you succeeded in your task." The Master nodded in confirmation, concealing what shock he had experienced, and the commander continued. "Your disciple joined in our scouting groups into the city. So far only one of our squadrons have returned from there, sadly…your disciple was not among them." Altair drew a breath, and exhaled as he began trekking towards the city gates.

"Then there is heavy resistance inside the city." he observed. "What of the returning scouts?"

"They have reported several enemy groups within the walls. The civilians are holed up within the church."

"What of the other Father of the Temple?" the commander folded his arms.

"He went in with another reconnaissance group. They have not returned either."

"If he's followed his training, then the recon groups will be fine. He will have drawn all allied forces into the church, which from what it sounds like, is an easily defensible location." Altair explained. "I'll go in alone, and see if I can rendezvous with my allies. Thank you, commander."

"Are you sure about this, Father?" Altair nodded.

"I will signal when the time is right to strike. Be ready for that time." With that, he headed toward the town. This would be a bit more normal than the realm of Oblivion, that made Altair a bit more easygoing about the affair. He was still fighting demons, but the backbone of the Battle of Kvatch was broken, and the rest was just cleanup.

Normally, this point would be the end of the Master Assassin's mission. The cleanup was really for the regular forces, such as the authorities, or initiates like Auditore. However, because he and Auditore were partners until the Grandmaster said otherwise, he had to deal with demeaning tasks such as finishing the last of the enemies.

He easily scaled the city walls, which had a lack of enemy archers, making the task that much easier. From his new vantage point atop the wall, he could see a good portion of the city. All around were corpses, of the innocent and guards alike. This event would forever be a scar upon the city's history, and nothing that the Assassin Brotherhood did would ever change that.

The church had been toppled, the huge tower had fallen onto the streets, effectively dividing the city into two halves. Dremora were still there in force, patrolling the desecrated roads of the once-proud city. The Master Assassin decided directly engaging enemies at this time wouldn't be a good idea; on day one he had an accurate view of where all of his enemies were, and was able to keep tabs on them. He also had backup on day one.

Here, he had no idea where all enemies could be hiding out, and he was a solitary unit. He leaped from the wall onto the roof of one of the many buildings that hadn't yet been destroyed. One of the good things about ground units was that they rarely searched the skies for enemies; that distracts from searching the ground for any approaching enemies.

He leaped off of the building, catching the wall easily enough. His gloves were made of a special high-friction material, allowing Altair to climb seemingly-impossible surfaces. He had made it to the top, and now had a clear path towards the church. He was now close enough to see that enemies were still besieging the church.

He scouted out alternative paths towards the church that didn't involve crossing enemy paths. From the building he was on, it didn't seem like too huge a leap to the city walls once more, and then a simple trek over to the back of the church would be simple enough. However the sun would cast a shadow, and possibly reveal his position to the enemy.

Another way was to continue his scurrying across rooftops, but the same problem presented itself. One enemy who was a little bit too observant would see his shadow, and be alerted to his presence. This battle would take some more thought than merely charging across the city. Perhaps he could run inside the buildings, instead. His shadow would only show when he leapt from building to building, and he could easily make himself scarce once inside a window. He opened a trap door on the roof, and fell into the top floor of the building, deciding that to be the best idea.

He descended the levels of the building, until he found a window he could leap across to. To any normal person, the force of impact would have caused him to fall to the ground. However, a combination of years of training had strengthened his arms, and his special gloves kept him glued to the wall. He pushed himself up the wall and into the window, landing into a roll.

He didn't take much time to examine the homes, although they were as much a statement of the town's destruction as the streets themselves. The dremora had hunted down every civilian they could, and the entrails were accompanied by blood spattered everywhere. The furniture was tossed aside wherever possible, and splintered wood lay shattered across the broken, burnt room.

Altair made his way to the next window, leaping across to the wall, and shimmying up the wall. He toppled into the building, wading through the carnage caused by the demonic dremora patrolling the streets even now. The church was finally within one building's reach; the Master Assassin reached the top of the building. He took a deep breath as he prepared his final leap into the church.

He crashed through the remainder of the stained class, deciding to not risk too much more time out in the open. He fell into a roll, silently grateful that none of the glass had pierced his armor or skin. "Stop!" called a familiar voice as Altair looked up to see the survivors of the attack, all armed with bows and having arrows at the ready.

"Altair? How did-" asked Auditore, as he approached from the mob of people ready to kill him at a moment's notice.

"I'd heard you were all holed up in the church. I knew Machiavelli was among you, so I knew you would all be heavily fortified." He held his hands up as a symbol of peace. "I am here to help."

"You priests are the strangest people I've ever seen." said a priest. "Things must work differently at the Temple of the One."

"What is your name?" asked Altair, deciding to lose anonymity for a while.

"My name is Martin." said the priest.

"Martin. Alright, Martin." Altair took a breath. "On my way in, I saw several enemies outside, scouting around, in addition to whatever is besieging the church itself. However, the church has some remnants of a second floor. How are our rations doing?"

"We are running low on food," explained Martin, the casually dressed priest. "We have plenty of arrows, in case you are suggesting we take sniper positions."

"Excellent, we are equipped, at the very least." Altair made it to the second floor, where the wall began to degrade. It provided an excellent view of the dremora-ridden path all the way to the gates of Kvatch. "The plan is to snipe every enemy possible. I, and a few volunteers, will take out other ground units. We'll make our way to the gate, and let in reinforcements."

"Reinforcements? The army amassed so quickly?"

"We broke the Oblivion gate. The army was all too happy to take the easy job of cleaning up afterwards." Altair explained, examining the field of battle. "While our top priority is to defeat everything between us and the exit, I want eyes behind us as well, to keep reinforcements at bay."

"We can do that."

"How many able men do we have?"

"Not many. Fewer trained with weaponry."

"It didn't seem that way to me when I first entered the church."

"I think you understand there is a difference between us being focused on one target and us being put up against several targets." Altair sighed.

"We need someone with a bow, it provides the effect of fear. That can turn the battle, at the very least." Martin sighed.

"What of the injured and sick?" Martin asked. "We can't afford every able-bodied man to this task."

"You will tend to the injured. We will make it out of this, Martin." Martin nodded.

"We will try…"

"You will do." Altair leaped down, and caught up to Ezio. "Auditore, I need a status report."

"We lost a lot of good men just retreating to the church. Master Machiavelli decided to scout out further into the town a few hours ago, we haven't seen or heard from him." Great, so Machiavelli decided to charge even further into this mess. That made the mission that much harder.

"Alright. I need you to hang back and practice your archery on live targets. I will take what remains of the scouts, and lead a charge back to the gates."

"Back to the gates?"

"Auditore, our mission is to free the people, for now. The Imperial Army is here to defeat the enemies. We're assassins, not one-man armies."

"Could have fooled me." retorted the boy.

"We won't always be fighting alongside one another, Auditore. You need to learn to follow the mission parameters, and not to risk extra resources on things others are better equipped to handle." Auditore heaved a sigh, and Altair turned around. "We'll fight our way out, and we'll save as many innocents as possible, and we'll exit the scene indiscreetly."

"Right."

"Good." Altair replied, and walked off. It was a cruel truth, and Auditore didn't often like that kind of a truth. It was the kind of truth he expected the boy to fight, and if he did, he would risk too much. He could risk the lives of everyone in that church, including the lives of Machiavelli and himself.

He readied a small squadron of ground warriors. The archers took their positions while Martin began to aid an injured couple. The sounds of the demons pounding on the door filled the silent void that had been created. The demons knew no fear, but struck fear into several of the people there. It was time to strike back, and teach the demons why they should fear the light.

Altair thought he was taking the show, but Ezio wouldn't let that happen. As the Master Assassin charged off into battle, the Auditore boy had plans of his own. Before Altair had fallen into the church, Martin had told Ezio of the secret passage between the castle and the church. The Count's family, much like Skingrad's own court, feared assassination.

So they didn't get out often. Or so the people thought. He grabbed a torch and descended the stairs, into the dark tunnels of the under church. There was no one else, and the flame kept a comfortable glow about the place. His breath was in tight gasps, as he was inexperienced with spelunking, and the idea was one that held much fear over Ezio's head.

After what seemed like hours of traveling the tunnel, he finally heard grunts above the ground. A ladder invited him up, but he would be appearing in the middle of quite a few enemies. He needed help, but Altair was going to be stubborn about this whole affair. That bullshit about completing the mission filled his mind. The whole city was the mission. He thought back to when he considered Altair a hero. A lazy one, maybe. Willing to pull out just because objectives were completed. Maybe he was a coward.

He pushed the manhole out of his way. He could immediately see two dremora, guarding a gate winch. Yes, that was it! A gate winch. He would open that in case any reinforcements came. Maybe then Altair would be impressed. Why was he so focused on impressing Altair all of a sudden? He shouldn't have cared.

He placed a hand on the ground, and used it to push himself upwards, and placed his knee on the ground. He was being as silent as possible, then drew his sword. The dremora turned almost immediately, and attacked. Ezio's eye activated, showing him what their next moves were to be. The one on the left would be struck by an arrow and killed, but the one on the right was fully prepared to stab forth and skewer the young Assassin.

Dodging to the side of the attack, he held his blade aloft, slamming the side of the weapon into the torso of his foe, pushing it backward. He drew a throwing knife on the back end of the swing, and on return strike, thrust the weapon forward, landing square in his foe's shoulder. Practice aim on the fly, noted Ezio as he drew back a few paces to avoid his opponent's counterattack.

A second arrow felled the second dremora, and Machiavelli landed behind the corpses. "You're really quite bad at this, aren't you." he said, and pulled the gate winch.

"Haven't had much chance to practice. Sorry." Ezio said, yanking his throwing knife out of the fallen demon.

"You'll do better traveling with me for this venture, then. Where is Ibn La'Ahad?"

"He is trying to get all of the civilians out."

"Its for the best. I can't do everything."

"He's retreating after."

"He'll be waiting for you. There is a reason he does not like to do more than the mission mandates, but you are one of his objectives." Machiavelli tossed a glove at Ezio. "That is a Scaling Glove. It will help climb the gates. You have ranged weapons, we'll use those for now."

After putting on the glove, Ezio hugged the wall, and started to push himself up, relying solely upon the Scaling Glove to pull himself up. Machiavelli had reached the top of the wall pretty easily, and sat there, staring out at the castle while Ezio tried to catch up. Once he reached the top, he hurled himself over, and sat still for a few moments. "Are you okay, Auditore?" Machiavelli asked, drawing his bow.

"I'm fine, I just need a moment."

"We're going to run a confusion operation. Sniping on the move. I'll kill one enemy, you kill another, and we change positions. Enemies will try to check for us, but will find nothing, and be wide open for a continued attack." The idea was genius, it seemed. They could pull out enemies, and dispatch them easily.

"Right, right, we can do that! Where did you come up with that?"

"Part of my training. I had to invade some old forts infested with bandits without being detected by any of them." Ezio detected a hint of pride in stating that. "I can teach you about infiltration later. Right now we need to execute it." Ezio nodded and drew his bow as well. Machiavelli made his way around the castle walls. His first attack would be Ezio's signal to keep an eye on Machiavelli's position.

A dremora noticed where the arrow had come from, and had already gone to investigate it. Ezio's arrow was ready, and his arm was getting sore as he awaited the demon to reach position. Machiavelli had disappeared a moment, but reappeared to Ezio's left. The young boy released the arrow, and it flew. The brief moment it was in the air seemed like an eternity: Machiavelli was depending on both of their skills with archery, and if Ezio failed, both of their lives were in danger. The arrow, miraculously, flew true, hitting the foe in the neck.

The dremora collapsed, and more enemies noticed where the arrow came from. Time to keep moving, Ezio thought to himself, and he began moving to his next position. Somewhere he would have a good eye on Machiavelli, and still be hidden from enemy view. He found a place just as Machiavelli fired on the two enemies that had invaded Ezio's previous position. Enemies we appearing in groups, now? This was a bad sign. If he had to start killing enemies in droves, that would be bad for Ezio.

It didn't matter, he drew another arrow, and prepared to fire another arrow. His Eye activated, allowing easier viewing of the battlefield. He wished he had control of when it activated, then it would be an efficient weapon. As it was, it was not a very useful instrument of combat. One enemy had reached Machiavelli's former position. No one else was following behind. Good, enemies were still not coming in hordes.

He loosed another arrow, letting the Eye of Eden guide his shot. It landed in between the demon's eyes, killing it instantly. He then began to move to a new position, keeping Machiavelli in view. It was then that enemies began to attempt to ring an alarm. Ezio fired an arrow, killing the demon trying to, and Machiavelli released three more arrows, dispatching three dremora. The Eye ceased to detect more enemies, however there were more enemies inside the castle.

Before much else could happen, however, soldiers started to storm the castle. Altair had succeeded in letting reinforcements in! Machiavelli caught up with Ezio, and shattered the window. "There is one other reason I am here, and by rights as Master, I requisition your aid, Auditore." Confused, the boy nodded, and followed Machiavelli into the castle.

They moved through the foyer's upper balcony. The dremora were alerted to the Assassin's presence immediately upon the shattering of the window, however the army's invasion served as a great distraction. "Don't focus on killing enemies right now. The dremora have one captive we don't want dying just yet."

"The count?"

"Now you're thinking, Auditore." They ran along the rafters, staying out of the crossfire of the battle. Machiavelli broke another window open, and they moved along the outside of the castle itself. They couldn't get involved with the battle, or they risked the count's life. The sounds of the battle filled Ezio's ears, and he knew Altair would eventually track them down.

If Altair got involved before they saved the count, things wouldn't be good for the young Assassin. He needed to prove to Altair that he was a good fighter, and could take care of himself. Machiavelli hoisted himself into one of the castle window, and pulled him through. They both landed in the hall just outside the count's room. Machiavelli motioned for Ezio to take position by the side of the door, and he drew his bow. Following orders and following suit, they both readied to storm the room.

"Remember, Auditore. This is a simple extraction, we aren't here to kill everything." the boy nodded, and Machiavelli kicked the door in. They both loosed their arrows on the only enemy in the room when they saw it; the count was dead. "Damnit!" Machiavelli shouted, running over to the corpse.

"It was a long shot he'd have survived…" Ezio said, trying to calm down the Master Assassin.

"He died on my mission."

"In circumstances you couldn't prevent."

"It doesn't matter when you are a Master Assassin, Auditore." Ezio jumped when he heard Altair behind him. "You follow orders, and you make sure freak accidents don't happen. Even if it couldn't have been prevented, it then becomes the fault of yours for not preventing the need to prevent disaster."

"Ibn La'Ahad…" Machiavelli said, standing up. There was a dead silence between the Assassins, as Machiavelli prepared to say as much as Altair dreaded to hear. "I need to help stabilize the Kvatchian Government." Ezio could see Altair clench his fists until his knuckles whitened. Ezio had subconsciously stopped breathing, the air was weighted. "I've already requisitioned Auditore's aid." Without a moment's pause, the silence was broken.

"Damn you, Machiavelli!" Altair yelled, socking the man in the face. Ezio flinched and stepped a few paces back, his mind returning to when Machiavelli had mentioned some sort of reason Altair did not like to do more than what was mandated by the mission. "I'll help you finish off the last of the dremora. Afterwards, Kvatch is your problem, not mine." Machiavelli nodded. Altair turned to Ezio. There must have been a deep pact of trust between the two, in order for Altair to take on extra objectives. "I understand your aid was requisitioned. It's good you can listen to someone's orders."

Machiavelli and Altair made their way down the hall. Following two Master Assassins was like following two legends. Their stride was strong and directed, despite the anger between the two. It brought a question to mind: were they former partners? Perhaps Machiavelli knew the reason Altair preferred to get in and get out of a mission. They slammed the door open, and Ezio then saw the battle going on. He drew his bow, and turned to the wall. He would hang onto the rafters, and snipe enemies from above.

A silent admiration filled the boy, as he fired potshots into the crowd. He was paying more attention the executions the Master Assassins were pulling off left and right. One moment Altair was stabbing an enemy in the wrist with his hidden blade, then finishing it with its own mace, the next he was encumbering an enemy with the corpse and crushing its skull with a well placed boot.

Machiavelli was doing no less impressive. Sword and dagger out, he dug his weapon into the enemy's arm, then used the longer weapon to impale their face. He then grabbed their weapon, and lopped another dremora's legs off, before finishing it with a well placed giant serrated sword to the chest.

The battle continued. If Ezio didn't know any better, he'd be somewhat surprised that they won with such oppressing odds. He descended to the ground when Machiavelli and Altair had finished the last enemy, digging longswords into its heart. They pulled the weapons out, and it fell to its knees, black liquid spilling out of it.

"That is…the last of them…" Altair said, heaving a breath. "Auditore, we're heading to Anvil. It's a coast city, and the best place to get in contact with the Grandmaster."

"Before you go, it may be a good idea to place the priest, Martin, into custody." Machiavelli said. Altair stopped dead once more, just as he had before the battle. "I have his whole name listed here."

"Who is he?" Ezio asked. Machiavelli was pushing the limits of Altair's patience, and knew it.

"Martin Septim. The son of Uriel Septim VII, and next heir to the throne." Ezio pulled out the Amulet of Kings.

"Did you know…?" he asked.

"Yes. I am surprised Altair has not noticed it." Altair folded his arms.

"You need to take Martin into protective custody. He is Ezio Auditore da Skingrad, entrusted with the death wish of the latest emperor. And since he's accompanying you, you need to take the highest-priority mission seriously, Ibn La'Ahad."

"Fine, we'll take Martin into our custody, Machiavelli." There was a certain scorn in Altair's tone. He was hoping to get to Anvil quickly. He wanted to get rid of Ezio. The boy sighed. They walked out of the castle and down to the church. They fought the battle to take back Kvatch, and broke a siege from the gates of Hell itself. It was cause for great celebration, but neither Assassin felt much like celebrating.

Martin was giving a sermon outside of the church, praying to the Nine Divines to protect the souls of all who had died that day. "Martin Septim, you are hereby placed under the protective custody of the Brotherhood." Altair announced, grabbing him by the back of the neck.

"We don't need to be so rough." Ezio was somewhat appalled by Altair's behavior.

"We need to get to Anvil. We can get him to a Den there." Altair was exasperated. He was in pain from having just won a huge battle within a gigantic city. Ezio decided to not argue.

"Wait!" Martin yelled. "There are other heirs, I'm sure of it."

"All have been killed. That's why we're here, Septim." He motioned to Auditore, who pulled out the Amulet of Kings, as well as himself. Martin tried to struggle against Altair's strong grip, but found himself unable.

"I…I…!"

"Please, do not argue." Ezio was not willing to incur Altair's wrath. Septim continued to try to struggle.

"Fine. Take me to the Weynon Priory."

"Why there?" Altair asked.

"That is where the Blades' leader will be. He can help us with what we need to do." Altair sighed.

"Now you know how I feel." Ezio folded his arms as Altair dragged the priest behind him. "Always having to do more before you can do what you need to."


End file.
